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María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien[1] (born September 19, 1966) is an American television journalist. She is currently the host of CNN Special Investigations Unit on CNN, and is best known for anchoring the CNN marquee morning newscast American Morning from July 2003[2] to April 3, 2007, with Miles O'Brien; their common surname is coincidental.
She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.[3]
Personal life
O'Brien's parents, both immigrants, met at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland in 1958.
My parents were both immigrants—my mother from Cuba, my father from Australia. Both attended daily Mass at the church near campus. Every day my father would offer my mother a ride. Every day, she declined. Finally she said yes. One year later, the day after Christmas, the two of them were married.[4]
O'Brien's parents married in 1959 in Washington, D.C. Her father Edward, an Australian (from Toowoomba, Queensland)[5] of Irish descent, was a mechanical engineering professor.[6] Her mother, Estella, who is Afro-Cuban, was a French and English teacher.[6] O'Brien is the fifth of six children, who all graduated from Harvard University. Her older siblings are law professor Maria (b. 1961); corporate lawyer Cecilia (b. 1962), businessman Tony (b. 1963) - who heads a documents company;[5] eye surgeon Estela (b. 1964); and anesthesiologist Orestes (b. 1967).[6][7]
At the time, interracial marriage in Maryland was illegal, so O'Brien's parents married in Washington, D.C where marriage laws were less restrictive. The newly wedded O'Briens then moved to the Long Island community of St. James, on Long Island's affluent North Shore, where O'Brien was born and raised. On the NPR quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, O'Brien explained that in Spanish her full name means, "The Blessed Virgin Mary of Solitude." When she started working in TV, many people recommended that she change her name, but she refused.[8]
Despite her partial Hispanic heritage, O'Brien doesn't speak Spanish fluently. That has resulted in some awkward exchanges with people who assume she does, including former US Vice President Al Gore.[9] Since 1995 O'Brien has been married to Bradley Raymond, co-head of investment banking at Thomas Weisel Partners. Together they have two daughters and twin sons: Sofia Elizabeth (born October 23, 2000); Cecilia (born March 20, 2002); and Charlie and Jackson on August 30, 2004.[10]
Broadcasting career
Soledad O'Brien began her career as an associate producer and news writer at WBZ-TV, then the NBC affiliate in Boston. She joined NBC News in 1991, and was based in New York as a field producer for the Nightly News and Today. O'Brien then worked for three years as a local reporter and bureau chief for San Francisco NBC affiliate KRON. At KRON she was a reporter on "The Know Zone." The program later moved to CNET without O'Brien.
O'Brien was featured on a regular segment of the Discovery Channel program The Next Step, holding the position of "Sun Microsystems Infogal."
She then anchored MSNBC's weekend morning show and the cable network's award-winning technology program The Site, which aired weeknights from the Spring of 1996 to November 1997.
O'Brien co-anchored Weekend Today with David Bloom beginning July 1999. During that time, she contributed reports for the weekday Today Show and for weekend editions of NBC Nightly News, and covered such notable stories as John F. Kennedy Jr.'s plane crash and the 1990s school shootings in Colorado and Oregon. In 2003, O'Brien covered the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster and later anchored NBC's weekend coverage of the War in Iraq. In 2005, she covered the Hurricane Katrina aftermath in New Orleans, where she interviewed then head of FEMA Michael Brown.
O'Brien moved to CNN where she joined Bill Hemmer to co-anchor CNN's flagship morning program American Morning from New York City in July 2003. On April 3, 2007, reportedly due to lagging ratings, O'Brien was replaced by former Fox News anchor Kiran Chetry (Miles O'Brien was replaced also; Hemmer had previously moved to Fox News).
O'Brien has recently completed a documentary entitled "Children of the Storm," directed by acclaimed director Spike Lee. She continues to work as a reporter for CNN,[11] mainly hosting Special Investigations Unit and occasionally filling in for Anderson Cooper on Anderson Cooper 360. She also anchored exit poll coverage during CNN's coverage of the primaries and caucuses in the 2008 United States presidential race. She also has filled in for Paula Zahn on Paula Zahn Now whenever Zahn was unable to make the broadcast (Zahn has since stopped working for CNN as of August 2, 2007).
O'Brien anchored a CNN special, Black in America in July 2008. The unprecedented television event, examines the successes, struggles and complex issues faced by black men, women and families -- 40 years after the death of Rev. Marting Luther King Jr. In the first installment, Soledad O'Brien investigates how James Earl Ray, an armed robber and escaped convict, had already spent an uncommon year on the run just a month before his path collided with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee. In "The Black Woman & Family" O'Brien explores the varied experiences of black women and families and investigates the disturbing statistics of single parenthood, racial disparities between students and the devastating toll of HIV/AIDS. O'Brien reports on the progress of black women in the workplace and the status of the black middle class. The series continues with "The Black Man." Through the personal stories of graduates of the 1968 class of Little Rock Central High School and their sons and grandsons, Soledad O'Brien explores the state of black men in America. O'Brien dispels the myths and examines the disparities between blacks and whites in education, career, economic achievement and the devastating rates of black male incarceration.
O'Brien drew criticism from FactCheck.org on September 8, 2008, for making a false assertion during an interview with a McCain campaign spokesperson, claiming that vice presidential candidate Palin, as the governor in Alaska, had slashed the special education budget by 62%,[12][13] when, in fact, she had increased it.[14][15][16] O'Brien was also criticized for these claims by other sources,[17][18][19][20][21] including the McCain/Palin campaign.[22]
Honors and recognitions
O'Brien's work has been honored several times, including a local Emmy for her work co-hosting the Discovery Channel's The Know Zone.
In 2007 O'Brien was awarded the NAACP President's Award.
She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and serves on the board of directors of The Harlem School of the Arts.
She was named to Irish American Magazine's "Top 100 Irish Americans" on two occasions. She is also on Black Enterprise magazine's 2005 Hot List. Also in 2005, she was awarded "Groundbreaking Latina of the Year" award by Catalina magazine.
O'Brien has given several keynote speeches over the years, including the undergraduate commencement at Bryant University in May 2007, where she was presented with a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree,[23] the convocation speech at Cornell University's Commencement in May 2007, a speech at Binghamton University commencement in December 2007, and the keynote speech at the 2008 annual National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Conference in Boston, MA in March 2008.
In April, 2008, she had the rare honor of becoming the first recipient of the Soledad O’Brien Freedom’s Voice Award, an award created in her name by Morehouse School of Medicine. "The award was created to recognize her accomplishments and willingness to be a voice for the voiceless in our society, and her determination to cover stories that might otherwise go untold. It will be given annually to mid-career professionals who serve as catalysts for social change in their given fields."
She has been named to People's 50 Most Beautiful in 2001 and to People en Espańol's 50 Most Beautiful in 2004.
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has awarded CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien the Goodermote Humanitarian Award for her efforts while reporting on the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Asian Tsunami. O’Brien will be presented with the award at a ceremony at the Bloomberg School of Public Health on November 18.
“Ms. O’Brien has shown the world tragedies of human conflict, natural disasters, chronic and infectious diseases,” said Michael J. Klag, MD, MPH, dean of the Bloomberg School of Public Health. “In addition to focusing attention on the people impacted, she has shed a light on how humanitarian efforts can help alleviate suffering and where current efforts have fallen short. Ms. O’Brien has challenged all of us to think and act in ways that offer humanitarian answers to the problems of the moment and the problems of the century, including public health issues.”
Career timeline
References
- ^ Edelhart, Courtenay (2005-10-24). "CNN's O'Brien embraces her own diversity", Indianapolis Star. Retrieved on 2 April 2006. [dead link]
- ^ "Anchors & Reporters Soledad O'Brien". Retrieved on 2007-04-22.
- ^ Anchors & Reporters Soledad O'Brien
- ^ Soledad O'Brien Unofficially
- ^ a b Soledad O'Brien Unofficially
- ^ a b c Hispanic Magazine.com - June/July 2005 - Cover Story
- ^ Behind the Scenes: Black and shopping in America - CNN.com
- ^ "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me", NPR (August 19, 2006). Retrieved on 19 August 2006.
- ^ O'Brien encourages diversity in journalism, Butler University Dawgnet, October 30, 2005
- ^ Soledad O'Brien Unofficially
- ^ mediabistro.com: FishbowlNY
- ^ CNN transcript from September 4, 2008
- ^ CNN comes up short on reporting Palin bikini photo fraud and other rumors, FoxNews.com, September 10, 2008
- ^ FactCheck.org: Sliming Palin, September 8, 2008
- ^ Alaska Legislators Overhaul Funding, Education Week, April 29, 2008
- ^ Sliming Palin, False Internet claims and rumors fly about McCain's running mate, Newsweek, September 8, 2008
- ^ Newest Palin Smear: She Cut Special Needs Budget, The Weekly Standard, September 4, 2008
- ^ McCain Camp Fights Sarah Smears, The Rush Limbaugh Show, transcript, September 9, 2008
- ^ Not again: Palin “slashes” another children’s program…by increasing funding, Michelle Malkin, September 4, 2008
- ^ CNN Contradicts FactCheck.org and Their Own Reporting on Palin, NewsBusters, September 9, 2008
- ^ Reporters’ fuzzy math, Carolina Journal Online, September 4, 2008
- ^ ICYMI: FactCheck.org: "Sliming Palin", JohnMcCain.com, September 9, 2008
- ^ Sweeney, Tracie (2007-08-16). "Bryant University Commencement 2007". Bryant University. Retrieved on 2008-01-02. "Soledad O’Brien will deliver the ceremony’s keynote address."
- ^ a b CNN Programs - Anchors/Reporters - Soledad O'Brien
External links
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