When Tim Russert died, he left behind a big legacy as he was the host of Meet the Press for many years. His journalism is definitely respected by many in both the Democratic and Republican parties and regardless of how partisan you are, one thing is for sure: When Meet the Press was on in Russert's years, you definitely got hooked.
However, nowadays, Russert's replacement, David Gregory, has tarnished the legacy of Meet the Press and has turned it into a show that doesn't have the same thrill as Russert's Meet the Press used to have. Sure, you still see notable people like Newt Gingrich, David Brooks, James Carville and others appear on MTP and yes, there are good debates going on but in the end, it isn't the same.
Now a number of people on Daily Kos have characterized David Gregory as a tool, a would-be journalist or even a pawn for the GOP. Either way you put it, Gregory is not the right person to be anchoring Meet the Press and he must be replaced.
But how? Will NBC do it? Maybe, maybe not but it doesn't mean we can't do something ourselves!
Luckily, we've got the perfect person for the job: Soledad O'Brien.
Now I know what you're thinking: CNN won't let her. Well, why not? Soledad O'Brien is an outstanding journalist who is well known for her tough questioning of others she interviews yet at the same time, she's not exactly a partisan. Sure, O'Brien does criticize the Tea Party and others in the GOP heavily but that doesn't necessarily make her a partisan. I mean, she's a frickin' journalist.
On top of that, O'Brien has won awards, many of them. She's even won more awards than most people hosting MSNBC. Check out CNN's summary:
http://www.cnn.com/...
In 2011, Soledad won her first Emmy for Crisis in Haiti (Anderson Cooper 360) in the category of Outstanding Live Coverage of a Current News Story – Long Form. O'Brien was part of the coverage teams that earned CNN a George Foster Peabody award for its BP oil spill and Katrina coverage and an Alfred I. duPont Award for its coverage of the Southeast Asia tsunami. The National Association of Black Journalists named O’Brien the Journalist of the Year and Edward R Murrow Awards lauded her with the RTDNA/UNITY award for Latino in America in 2010. She received the 2009 Medallion of Excellence for Leadership and Community Service Award from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. In 2008, she was the first recipient of the Soledad O’Brien Freedom’s Voice Award from the Morehouse School of Medicine for being a catalyst for social change and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Goodermote Humanitarian Award for her efforts while reporting on the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami. Her numerous other awards include a Gracie Allen Award in 2007 for her reporting from Cyprus on the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict as well as her reports from the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. The NAACP honored her with its President’s Award in 2007 for her humanitarian efforts and journalistic excellence.
On top of this, Soledad O'Brien is Harvard educated. And she's also attractive but that isn't the reason why I'm promoting her to replace David Gregory. She's also a good anchor and definitely has the ability to level the playing field with her guests while at the same time not caving in to either side. This is something Tim Russert was better at than David Gregory.
Don't take CNN's biography page of O'Brien's word for it. Here's a video showing why O'Brien is such an asskicker at journalism:
Now how are we going to act to get Soledad O'Brien to become the next host at Meet the Press?
WELL........
Why don't we start a petition? Is there one out there and is it effective?
I mean, if so many of us pushed Rachel Maddow to anchor her own show on MSNBC, why not do the same thing for Soledad O'Brien in replacing David Gregory?
Seriously, several people on Kos have proposed this but now we need to put this to action.
As far as a petition, if any of you want to comment and put yourself on the list, I suggest you do so!
Of course, any other comments are welcome. I think we should seriously consider this.
Think about it: Soledad O'Brien vs. David Gregory.
1:46 PM PT: Just quick: I understand Soledad O'Brien is under contract at CNN but we all know how CNN can be wishy-washy at times. If you say O'Brien is giving us a reason to watch CNN, fine. However, that shouldn't stop us!
2:44 PM PT: Guys, this is a great discussion we're having! Thanks also for the recommendations.
Now let's recommend this diary like CRAZY so we can spread the word out and keep the discussion going!
3:34 PM PT: If you want to be apart of the petition, either state so in this diary or send a message to me via Kos using the "Welcome Back" menu on the right hand screen (top right or wherever).