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This...is Soledad
Topics: Soledad O'Brien, Mas Magazine, Bakersfield, Lauren Helper, interview, April, 2008, blog, Bakotopia, Latina
Posted by lhelper Wed Apr 9, 2008 16:05:57 PDT
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This...is Soledad
CNN reporter Soledad O’Brien wants women to know success — both personal & professional — is just a balancing act away.


Soledad O'Brien. Photo courtesy of CNN

By Lauren Helper, MÁS staff

Brains, beauty and balance.

A television journalist, a multicultural stunner and a mother of four — Soledad O’Brien is a woman’s woman who has it all.

On April 17, at the 19th annual Bakersfield Women’s Business Conference, O’Brien, 41, will deliver the keynote address, focusing on “brains, beauty and balance” in the lives of successful working women.

O’Brien, of Australian, Irish and Cuban heritage, is the former co-anchor of “American Morning” with Miles O’Brien (no relation). Based in New York, O’Brien anchored CNN’s flagship morning program from 2003-2007. She is now serving as an anchor and special correspondent for “CNN: Special Investigations Unit,” reporting the most significant stories across the United States and the world.

O’Brien was born Sept. 19, 1966 in St. James, New York. Her parents, both immigrants, met at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland in 1958. Interracial marriage in Maryland was illegal back then (O’Brien’s mother is a black Cuban), so the couple married in Washington, D.C. The O’Briens then moved to the Long Island community of St. James on the affluent North Shore, where O’Brien was born and raised.

Her father, Edward, from Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia and of Irish descent, was a mechanical engineering professor. Mother Estela was a French and English teacher. O’Brien is the fifth of six children who all graduated from Harvard University. Yes, six Harvard graduates from one family!

Her siblings — all successful as well — are Maria, a law professor; Cecilia, a corporate lawyer; Tony, a businessman; Estela, an eye surgeon; and Orestes, an anesthesiologist.

In December 2004, O’Brien was among a handful of CNN anchors sent to Phuket, Thailand, to cover the catastrophic tsunami in the Southeast Asia region. And in the fall of 2003, O’Brien was the only broadcast journalist permitted to travel with first lady Laura Bush on her trip to Moscow.

O’Brien came to CNN from NBC News, where she had anchored the network’s “Weekend Today” since July 1999. During that time, she contributed reports for the weekday “Today Show” and weekend editions of “NBC Nightly News,” and covered such notable stories as John F. Kennedy Jr.’s plane crash and the infamous school shootings in Colorado and Oregon.

In 2003, she reported on the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, and later anchored NBC’s weekend coverage of the war in Iraq.

Before “Weekend Today,” O’Brien anchored MSNBC’s award-winning technology program “The Site,” and the cable network’s weekend morning show. O’Brien joined NBC News in 1991, and was based in New York as a field producer for the “Nightly News” and “Today.”

She began her career as an associate producer and news writer at the then-NBC affiliate, WBZ-TV in Boston and also worked three years as a local reporter and bureau chief for the NBC affiliate KRON-TV in San Francisco.


Soledad O'Brien. Photo courtesy of CNN

O’Brien earned a local Emmy for her work as a co-host on Discovery Channel’s “The Know Zone.” She has been named to People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” in 2001 and People en Espanol’s “50 Most Beautiful People” in 2004.

She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. In her “cultural melting pot of awards,” O’Brien has also won the Hispanic Achievement Award in Communications, and was listed among Irish American Magazine’s Top 100 Irish Americans.

Married to investment banker Brad Raymond, the couple have four children, Sofia Elizabeth, 7; Cecilia, 6; and 3-year-old twins, Charlie and Jackson.

MÁS magazine caught up with the often on-the-go O’Brien by phone after she had just returned to New York from Memphis, Tennessee, to report on the 40th anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination. Her latest CNN documentary project, “Black in America” premiered April 3 with weekly specials through June; two-hour broadcasts continue in July.


Soledad O'Brien. Photo courtesy of CNN

On her way with the children to the family’s weekend home, O’Brien talked about her heritage, her work and Latinas making huge strides in the professional world:

Q: You’ll be the keynote speaker at a very successful Women’s Business Conference here in Bakersfield. Without giving away too much of your keynote address, what do you hope to communicate to the attendees?
A: “One of the things that has helped me most in my career has been my mentors. I’ve been amazed by the sheer number of women who’ve been so generous with their time and expertise — and these are some of the busiest women in the business. I think it’s great when women are passionate about other women being successful. For that reason, I’m always happy to share my story and answer questions. I’ll be talking about success and how we define it as women, because it’s often different from the way men define it. For women, instead of just being about money, we ask ourselves, ‘Am I fulfilled? Is this my passion?’ We tend to lose things as a group as we climb the ladder of success. For instance, I have to ask myself, ‘Do I go to Memphis to film a documentary about Martin Luther King or to a singalong at my kids’ school?’ As women, no matter if you’re a journalist or in another profession, we have a lot in common. We have to balance the unjuggleable.”

Q: Our magazine is aimed at the Hispanic community here in Kern County. We’re well read among Latinas, and we see more and more business leaders who are women with Hispanic roots. How do you see the future for Latinas in the professional world?
A: “I’ve been amazed by the sheer numbers of Latinas and minorities succeeding widely in industries that were closed to them in the past. I think our generation is reaping the benefits of the sacrifices and efforts of previous generations. Not too long ago, I met an Asian girl in the media industry who said, ‘They call me the young Soledad O’Brien.’ I think it’s wonderful that I can be a multicultural role model. People think, ‘If you can do it, I can do it.’”

Q: How have your cultural roots helped shape the way you view and the way you cover news stories?
A: “My parents were both immigrants — my mother from Cuba, my father from Australia. So when I went to Cuba (in 1998 to Cuba to cover Pope John Paul II’s historic visit), it was personally very interesting to me. Also covering the immigration story in California and stories in Mexico, it was helpful to be able to communicate with people in their own language. I speak Spanish, though not fluently. As a journalist, though, there’s also an upside to being an outsider, because you’re coming from a different, fresh perspective.”

Q: Tell us about your early childhood and how you first decided on entering the news business.
A: “My parents really valued education — I think it’s a typical immigrant value. They didn’t care what we did as long as we were happy and fulfilled. I didn’t plan on entering the news business until I got an internship at a TV station in college. Suddenly it felt like this was absolutely what I should be doing. I just loved every part of the business.”

Q: What’s the story behind your name?
A: “My full name is María de la Soledad Teresa O’Brien. In Spanish, it means ‘The Blessed Virgin Mary of Solitude.’”

Q: So you spent time in California when you worked in San Francisco for KRON-TV news? Have you been to Bakersfield before?
A: “You know, I was thinking about that, and I don’t think I have. So this will be my first visit!”

Q: You must be asked to speak at events like these all the time. May we know why you picked our Women’s Business Conference to attend?
A: “I love speaking to minority and women’s groups. I love that people are there to network and help. And I get something out of it, too.”

Q: How do you accomplish it all, and what is your advice to young Hispanic women?
A: “My advice would be to set the bar low and don’t stress. My life can get hectic, but telling other people’s stories — and covering events like the tsunami and Hurricane Katrina — it’s impossible to feel sorry for yourself. You have to remember to keep it all in perspective.”

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Comment From: matt

Soledad is totally fly, yo!