Mika Brzezinski Clip for this week’s Tutorials
August 14, 2007
This week you’re watching a clip from MSNBC where Mika Brzezinksi refused to read a lead story (on Paris Hilton). Here it is…
Don’t forget, if you’d like to have this video in your iPod, then use vixy.net, paste the YouTube URL (http://youtube.com/watch?v=6VdNcCcweL0) and convert it to mp4 (which is the video format iPods use).
In my tute yesterday a debate arose over whether Mika was completely justified in refusing to read the Paris Hilton story as the lead.
I believed that she was completely justified as ultimately, the only reason Paris Hilton was chosen as a lead story was to satisfy the media, public, policy pattern in agenda setting. This all boils down to business rather than tact and respect when choosing Paris Hilton as a lead over a story about the happenings in Iraq.
In that sense I think she was justified.
Another thing that was talked about was whether or not her reaction was professional. Again, I believed, in agreement with the rest of the tute, that her reaction was not professional, but still very justified.
However, watching that video clip again has made me think that maybe Mika’s refusal to read the story is in itself satisfying the media, public and policy setting. People like to see such a tantrum on TV and people like to see people going ‘against the norm’.
Maybe what should be looked at is not if Mika was justified in what she was doing, but rather if her herself is acting as a sort of flippant Pars Hilton lead story.
… (also, yeah, i find it completely lame that she was stuck with the Paris Hilton story and the two other obnoxious MALE newsreaders weren’t.