TJ Holmes Interview Part 2

The second part of Tibberly G. Ríchard's interview with CNN's T.J. Holmes posted today at EURWEB.COM. Here is an excerpt:

“Since becoming a part of the CNN team," T.J. says his work day is anything but ordinary. “It’s typical for my day to be unpredictable. I might be in NY filling in on American Morning. I might be reporting live in the middle of floodwaters in Atlanta. I might be in L.A. shooting a story for my weekend show. I might be making an appearance at an event somewhere. Who knows? I’m all over the place.”

That means that T.J. is getting lots of exposure as television news journalist. And, given that, the one thing that cannot be ignored is the fact that there are very few Black network news anchors. So we wondered, as a Black journalist is there a greater sense of responsibility to the black community??

“I think we all have a responsibility to our communities, no matter what field we happen to be in … whether you’re a teacher, a coach, a local florist, [or a] mailman, whatever. Our responsibility is to live an exemplary life,” he comments. “Yes, I devote a lot of my personal time to community events, non-profit organization, etc., but even if I didn’t, I still think I can serve my community by setting a good example for young people. Simply seeing a young, Black, college-educated man working as an anchor on the world’s premiere news network can serve to inspire young Black kids and give them something to aspire to.”

Holmes also hopes to inspire young men to be committed and faithful husbands by becoming one. T.J. and fiancée Marilee, an Atlanta based attorney plan to marry March 2010.

“We all have it in us to want to be seen, rich and famous. But wanting to be famous and known for the right reason is important,” he admits. “I tie that to family and marriage, in that, I can set a great example doing what I do and being a committed and faithful husband.”

... to read the full article

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