Serene Branson Talks about Her On-Air Aphasia

By Tara Ariano, The Set | Friday, February 18, 2011, 6:22 AM

Earlier this week, the world was riveted by a clip of Serene Branson, an award-winning reporter at Los Angeles's local CBS affiliate, seemingly melting down on-camera and stumbling spectacularly over her words. Less than a day after the clip went viral, Branson's station released a statement assuring the public that Branson had not had a stroke, as was suspected, but yesterday the cause of Branson's garbled speech was revealed to be a complex migraine.

Branson appeared this morning on CBS's "The Early Show" to describe the incident — knowing something was very wrong with her, but not exactly what the issue was — and the distress she still feels watching the now-infamous clip. 

"The Early Show" also interviewed its medical expert, Dr. Jennifer Ashton, to talk about migraine aura, and how viewers can look out for signs they might be experiencing one.

Branson will also speak about the incident later today, in an interview with Julie Chen on CBS's "The Talk." Here's a preview.