60 Minutes Correspondent Lesley Stahl On New Book "Becoming Grandma"

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Journalist Lesley Stahl has had a longtime career with CBS News filled with political scoops, surprising features, and award winning foreign reports. She's a correspondent on 60 Minutes and has been since 1991. Now, Stahl is adding "author" to her resume, with a book about the joys of becoming a grandma.

"Twenty-six years of working with the most extraordinary journalists," Stahl recalled while talking one-on-one with CBS4's Lisa Petrillo. "When I got there, it was Mike and Morley and Ed Bradly and Steve Croft and me. I get chills hearing that. I know I landed in heaven."

Stahl says retirement is not on the minds of the correspondents on the award winning 60 Minutes. Mike Wallace was in his 90s when he finally retired from the broadcast.

"No one leaves on their own, they have to drag you off the air," she explained. "I went to my boss and said, 'If and when I start slipping, whether it's physical or mental, I'll come and tell you.' He looked at me and said 'No you won't, no one ever does that. Are you kidding me'."

Broadcast journalism has become a tough business recently in the terms of 'fake' news. Stahl says "We have a lot of work to do to regain the trust and I think we need to just keep doing our jobs and I think that's happening right now, that we are doing our jobs, trying to ignore the noise of fake news and criticisms and do it honestly and with great seriousness. I don't think we can do anything else."

Stahl was in South Florida recently, appearing at the Books and Books at the Bal Harbour Shops but she wasn't talking shop with fans, this was about her real passion, her new book, "Becoming Grandma: The Joys and Science of the New Grandparenting."

Stahl has two granddaughters, Chloe and Jordan.

"For working mothers like me, if you worked while your child was growing up, you kind of have this imperative to take this as a second chance and make up for what you missed and recognize that grandchildren actually need their grandparents. We are probably the only people in their lives that are ever going to think they're perfect."

Stahl says the number one role of grandparents is called "The Grandmother Theory" and that is to babysit.

"Historically, we are here to raise the children so both parents could go out and hunt and both parents could grow crops and grandmothers were in the cave and the house or whatever and took care of the kids."

She says the book is not an advice book.

"I just wanted to understand what was happening with me because my emotions were so intense. I realized it was a different kind of love than any other kind."

"Becoming Grandma" is in bookstores now.