Soledad O’Brien, CNN’s In America documentary series reporter, has anchored the 2008 Black in America and five more documentaries that report on the struggles of Blacks, Latinos and gays, as well as this month's look at life in New Orleans five years after Katrina.
O’Brien spoke with MyJet247.com about getting started in journalism -
"I was pre-med in college (Harvard) and always thought I was going to go to medical school and not for any real reason. I just felt like it was the right thing to do when I was in high school. I was a candystriper and I got my nurse’s aide certification. So, when I decided not to go I was just completely perplexed because I hadn’t thought of another career.
I had started working at a TV station, WBZ, in Boston. It was surprising to me how immediately I thought ‘Oh, this is exactly what I want to do!’ And it kind of dawned on me that everything that was happening around me was very exciting and I sort of thought I could be really good at this. I always liked writing and telling stories."
- and how she balances her life with a husband and four kids and a busy professional life that requires a lot of travel.
"First of all, my husband is great, he’s just amazing. We sort of swap that back-and-forth. I don’t think we ever aim for balance. I just don’t feel like I ever get balance. I just think that we have sort of realized if you want to do the things that you want to do and you want to do them well, if you’re a mom, or doing your job, you’re just going to have to deal with a little bit more chaos and frantic running than most people.
What I have tried to do is limit the travel so that I’m not gone for long stretches of time and that’s kind of hard when there’s a disaster like Katrina or the Tsunami. It’s kind of worked out because I think I can travel for up to two weeks before the wheels completely fall off. And, I have help. We take our kids on trips with us. They understand what I do and even though I’m not 100 percent physically there I’m always there as their mom."
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