In the beginning when I sat next to Tom Brokaw on the 'Today' show, the stories I was interested in were those having to do with women and children and learning and health. In those days, 25 to 30 years ago, that was called soft news, and not in a nice way.

She subsequently earned a scholarship to Indiana University where Jane Pauley was involved in the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. After leaving The Today Show Pauley hosted Real Life with Jane Pauley and served as deputy anchor for NBC Nightly News. In 2009 Pauley joined the Board of Directors of The Mind Trust an Indianapolis-based non-profit organization that supports education innovation and reform.

She is best known for her 13-year tenure on NBC's Today program followed by 12 years as co-host of Dateline NBC and for her public acknowledgements of her struggle with bipolar disorder.