Soledad O'Brien attended the Salvation Army's Book Club Luncheon Series for If It Takes a Village, Build One by author Malaak Compton-Rock at 21 Club on May 12, 2010 in New York City.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Soledad O'Brien at Salvation Army's Book Club Luncheon
Monday, May 17, 2010
Primary Tuesday Tomorrow
Lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer and CNN’s Best Political Team on Television will be on-air throughout the day on Tuesday, May 18, covering the state primary races and their impact on the political landscape in a year where a number of incumbents already have lost in primary challenges. Senior political analyst Gloria Borger will be on hand to explain the significance of the results, while chief national correspondent John King will man the Magic Wall to breakdown results county by county. Chief political correspondent Candy Crowley will travel to Pennsylvania to cover the contentious Democratic senate primary race between Representative Joe Sestak and Sen. Arlen Specter, both of whom she interviewed Sunday on State of the Union with Candy Crowley. Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash and national political correspondent Jessica Yellin head to Arkansas and Kentucky, respectively, to cover the tight state races.
Stay tuned to CNN throughout the day and night on 2010’s “Super Primary Tuesday” for the latest results and analysis of how the day’s races impact the balance of power. The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. will extensively cover the primaries, as will John King, USA at 7 p.m., when first returns are expected. Coverage will continue during primetime as the results come in to CNN’s Election Center.
Jeffrey Toobin to Speak at 2010 Burton Awards
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CNN's Senior Legal Analyst, Jeffrey Toobin is scheduled to speak at the 2010 Burton Awards for Legal Achievement on June 14, 2010. The awards program will be held at the Library of Congress. More information can be found on the Burton Awards for Legal Achievement website.
Soledad O'Brien At Cielo Latino Gala
On May 11, 2010, Soledad O'Brien hosted The Latino Commission on AIDS' 15th Annual Cielo Latino Gala at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
'Your Views on the News' May 16, 2010
This week's Your Views on the News' has absolutly nothing to do with CNN (to my knowledge) but it does give an insight to the interworkings of big news organizations.
On May 11th The New York Observer published a little article on a 'beloved' executive who was leaving the news organization to pursue her dream of becoming guidance counselor. While nothing that spectacular, what caught my eye (after being directed to the article by a friend) are the reactions. I knew behind the scenes politics are a big part of all news organizations but the vitrol comments on this post just blew me away.
On May 11th The New York Observer published a little article on a 'beloved' executive who was leaving the news organization to pursue her dream of becoming guidance counselor. While nothing that spectacular, what caught my eye (after being directed to the article by a friend) are the reactions. I knew behind the scenes politics are a big part of all news organizations but the vitrol comments on this post just blew me away.
Here's the article:
By Felix Gillette
In recent years, when she wasn't putting together stories as a senior producer for ABC's World News or helping to oversee global news-gathering operations as a network vice president, Mimi Gurbst liked to advise her colleagues on various ways to improve their personal and professional lives.
Somewhere along the say, sources tell The Observer, Ms. Gurbst became a kind of cherished, if unofficial, career counselor at ABC News, helping countless young producers and correspondents find their way at a particularly tumultuous time in an already confusing business.
Soon Ms. Gurbst will be counseling uncertain youngsters, full-time.
To wit: Later this year, Ms. Gurbst will step down from ABC News, where she has worked for the past 30 years, in order to pursue a new career as a high-school guidance counselor.
Sources tell The Observer that in August, Ms. Gurbst, who is 57 years old, will begin a master's degree program in "Risk and Prevention," at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, with the aim of becoming a high-school guidance counselor and perhaps someday running her own school.
It's a rocky time in broadcast news. Recently, ABC News cut a hefty amount of its staff in a painful round of buyouts and layoffs. But the timing of Ms. Gurbst's departure from the network, according to an ABC News spokesperson, is not a result of the layoffs. Ms. Gurbst has long been planning a move into educational counseling. In recent years, she has volunteered extensively at P.S. 69 in the Bronx.
"This is a bittersweet time for us with Mimi leaving," Jon Banner the executive producer of World News told us on Tuesday afternoon. "But we’re so excited for her. It’s incredibly fitting that what she’s going to do—and what she finds so much joy in—is something she’s been doing for so many years right here at ABC."
"She has spent immense amounts of time and patience counseling all of us, helping us through lots of difficult times, and giving us advice on what to do," he added. "I can only imagine how lucky every child will be who someday walks into her office for advice."
What's the most memorable guidance Mr. Banner ever received from Ms. Gurbst?
"She made sure that I met and married my wife," said Mr. Banner.
Through a spokesperson, Ms. Gurbst declined an interview request.
No word yet on whether Ms. Gurbst will advise her future high-school students to pursue careers in the broadcast news business—or to avoid the journalism racket altogether.
And a few of the comments posted (to read them all, and there are some doozies, follow the link):
Ding Dong The Witch is Dead!
Submitted by ExABCNewsie on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 07:53.
The bearded Lady, Jabba the Huttress.
I can only surmise that Felix Gillette is either hoping for a job at ABC or his significant other already has a job with ABCNews. Obviously, Felix has no idea of how horrible person Mimi Gurbst is. Did she get her power at ABC News from her early relationship with Bob Murphy by helping to keep his sexual orientation (before he came out of the closet) or maybe she was blackmailing him?
Whatever. It's 20 years too late and countless decent people's careers ruined, not to mention the advancement of many incompetent sycophants.
I spent 11 years there and it was all about avoiding Mimi.
And yes, you really did need to stop by the desk every day and find something to compliment and drop some dirty little sex joke.
Ick! I can still see those big black hairs sprouting from her chin....
TV Karma
Submitted by Former ABC DA (not verified) on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 14:30.
Back when I worked at ABC we had a well-liked producer who reassured us young kids about "TV karma". It followed the same rules as regular karma but it would be doled out to those in TV who treated others badly, acted selfishly and worse.
The tough part about TV karma, again like regular karma, is that it can be slow to act. But it does act. This outpouring of hilarious, accurate and terrible comments about Mimi is a beautiful example of TV karma playing out.
Let's just hope that the kids who Mimi "advises" won't be treated to the same awful, cruel and capricious behavior that so many at ABC were.
Who knows? Maybe all these comments will come up forever in search engines when people actually do a little background checking on Mimi before hiring her, unlike the reporter of this piece. So perhaps we all should be thanking Mr. Gillette?
Karma's a bitch. Just like Mimi.
Mimi Gurbst wouldn't know a
Submitted by optimist (not verified) on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 16:07.
Mimi Gurbst wouldn't know a news story if it wasn't printed on the front page of the NY Times.
I'm an optimist for our future students out there.
At least she isn't going off to try to teach journalism.
Bad Business, The Personal Foulness Just a Part of It
Submitted by Linkage Wizard on Thu, 05/13/2010 - 17:07.
As competitors we would often laugh at how ABC made its decisions based on Mimi's preferences (all those very effete, tepid reporter boys) or David Westin's lust for prestige. David's people seemed to spend more time fighting themselves then actually working on their programs.
Ms. Gurbst is an example of how a company loses its way when the boss manages things by keeping the explosive unruly children at a slow boil instead of leading with a genuine business strategy. The house that Roone built is a mshadow of itself. There is no plan for growth over there, just self preservation.
As a competitor, it was easy to see how this woman did a lot to make that happen. She was allowed to stay on because of her deep and intimate knowledge of Mr. Westin's decisions and ethics over the years.
I knew about her for years. I met her once. Unsolicited, she trashed another woman in the business using foul words and venom, it was like a sewer pipe had opened up and all of Bronxville's waste products were coming out of an orifice. And yet it was a mouth. The subject was someone she barely knew. I wondered at that time if Ms. Gurbst had a daughter or son and what would happen to them in the world one day when they met someone like her. And also wondered how someone like that could have been in a corporate culture so long.
Soledad O'Brien Talks About "Rescued"
Soledad O’Brien: The ‘Rescued’ Interview
By Kam Williams Special To The Skanner
...
KW: How are the kids? Last time we spoke, they played such a big role, demanding your attention periodically during the interview.
SO: [Chuckles] They’re fine, thanks. When I go back to Haiti in June and Sofia’s out of school, I’ll take her with me, which will be an interesting trip. And, from there, we’ll go to New Orleans, because she’s getting old enough to start touring some of the places I’ve worked.
KW: What interested you in covering this story?
SO: I don’t think you can walk around reporting on Haiti and be on the ground there, and not feel compelled by the story of the orphaned and abandoned children. When I was there immediately after the earthquake, there was certainly nothing as heart-wrenching as seeing the condition of many of the kids, because it’s such a massive problem. So, I was eager to cover the story for CNN with a potential global audience of two billion people.
KW: Two things that shocked me watching an advanced copy of the special: the sheer number of Haitian children without parents, 380,000, and the fact that about 300,000 of them are enslaved.
SO: It’s incredible, isn’t it? And that estimate is conservative. Some people put the number at around 1.5 million on the high side. That’s what I heard yesterday, but it’s just an educated guess at this point.
... to read the full article: Soledad O’Brien: The ‘Rescued’ Interview
Q&A With CNN Anchor Soledad O'Brien on Her New Haiti Documentary, Rescued
By Mark Joseph
...
Q: What made you decide to make this documentary?
A: The story of Haiti's earthquake is so big and complicated. I arrived in Haiti just a few days after the earthquake and it was immediately clear to me that the plight of Haiti's orphans was the story I had focus on. Those problems existed before the quake--child slavery and poverty so intense it caused parents choose which children they'd care for and which to abandon. I was very compelled to tell the story of Haiti's orphans the moment I visited the first orphanage. Secondly, we had great footage from a young man who'd been shooting at one orphanage--The Lighthouse--a few years earlier. We met in Haiti, and I knew his footage documenting day-to-day life at this particular orphanage would help us put together a more complete portrait.
Q: How does being a mother of four yourself influence your desire to do a story like this?
A: I hope that any good journalist would say--this is a story that people need to know about. But as a mother--I guess any parent full grasps the horrible choice in handing off your child because you just can care for him because you have no job, and a result, no food. It's heartbreaking. We capture some of those moments in this documentary: a mother who begs to stay in the orphanage. But they can't take her--it's already too crowded. The orphanage is also running out of food. So, she hands over her infant--"please take him". It's so powerful and so desperately sad.
... to read the full article: Q&A With CNN Anchor Soledad O'Brien on Her New Haiti Documentary, Rescued
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Critique of CNN's New Look
Not everyone likes the new look of CNN's set...
CNN's new angle can be dizzying by Richard Huff, NY Daily News
CNN changed its onscreen look this week.
After watching for a few days, I'm certain that someone there must own stock in Dramamine.
That's because it's hard to watch CNN for any length of time without getting seasick.
Almost every segment starts with the camera taking a long shot of the anchor, then zooming in and occasionally swirling around the side and over the anchor's shoulder. None of this is smooth, either.
Factor in the changing backdrops - the weather folks work the map, while the camera is moving in and out - and the result is like riding a Tilt-a-Whirl with a bad stomach.
That's not all. White House correspondent Ed Henry does his daily reports outside before a constantly moving camera. It's hard to focus on what Henry is saying because the screen is moving.
CNN is the latest news outlet to use movement as way to look different. Locally, stations have been toying with visuals for some time.
Watch local news and you'll see anchors standing and walking across sets. You'll also see correspondents in the field darting in and out of the picture.
It's as if someone decided the way to keep people watching is to look busy. Forget the stories, movement will get those eyeballs.
Crooked camera angles? Giant words onscreen? Image manipulation to make clips look like old movies? Anchor's heads popping off the screen? (Tune into WPIX/Ch. 11 some nights and it looks like Jim Watkins is coming through the screen.)
All that and more can be found nightly, and none has resulted in significant ratings gains.
What's sad is that every conversation these days between people in the news business defaults to how the audience can be maintained or grown.
...
to read the full article: CNN's new angle can be dizzying
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