10 Plus 1: Correspondent Mika Brzezinski
(CBS)
So, what do you do for a living?
I travel the country looking for people and stories that fascinate me. I try and find the stories that affect my day to day life as a wife and mother of two. I have such a great job it's embarrassing.What is not being covered enough at CBS News?
I don't think there is enough news, period. Hard to capture what really matters in 22 minutes.What's the strangest thing that has ever happened to you on the job?
I took a cab from the Philadelphia train station to a town about 30 miles away. Two hours later, I was in the middle of nowhere arguing with him that he didn't know where he was going. He wouldn't let me out ... and was arguing with me and he kept driving the wrong way. Producer Sally Garner told me on the phone just to get out of the car! So I threw cash at him and opened the door while the car was still moving ... and hopped out. Then Sally had to come find me. I was a mess ... scary!If you had 10 broken fingers and no gas in the car, which colleague would you want to be there?
Betty Chin ... but she just got promoted so now what!! [Chin was formerly a producer for the "Evening News," and was recently named senior producer for the "Evening News."]If you were not in news, what would you be doing?
I can't think of anything else I would be doing. I have wanted to be in news since I was 12 years old and I went with my dad to tape a Larry King interview. Geraldo was filling in, but don't hold that against me.What is the biggest change at CBS during the time you've been here?
Well that is obvious ... Memogate: That changed everything.What are the last three books you've read or the last three movies you've seen?
"The World Is Flat" - and it is.What is your first memory of TV News?I just watched "Squid and the Whale" and "Terms of Endearment" as research for an interview with Jeff Daniels. About half way through "Terms" I realized I had already seen it.
Watching my dad on "Meet the Press" … and sitting around the dinner table to watch "The CBS Evening News." It was something that clicked for me. Though my father thought I was thoroughly engaged with every word he was saying, I was more fascinated with all the excitement around him, the excitement of preparing a story and getting it on the air despite the challenging interview subject.Would you want your child to go into the news business?
Between my husband (an investigative reporter for Channel 7 in New York) and myself, I don't know what else they would do ... though one of them wants to be a vet, which is a relief.Who is the most fascinating person you've covered and who is the biggest jerk?
My bar for fascinating has nothing to do with fame - I have interviewed many women who have accomplished a great deal and still balance marriage and motherhood. To me, they are ALL fascinating.And finally, a question from zeusdidit, posted in the comments section: If you could go back in time and change one thing, what would it be?And jerk? - there was a movie star who I interviewed for a profile piece and he was so unbelievably arrogant, I found it difficult to sit through it. What irked me the most was HE thought I was lucky to be sitting across from him! I won't name him, but I am sure if he reads this he won't know that it's HIM ... THAT'S how arrogant he was!
In terms of my career, there's not a lot I would change. Everything is an experience that you build on. I've worked on cable and shows that were a huge departure from news, but they have all built into what I am today.I would have also loved to have had my kids earlier!