Contessa Brewer
Contessa Brewer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | March 16, 1974 |
| Education | B.S., Newhouse School, Syracuse University |
| Occupation | MSNBC News anchor |
| Notable credit | Verdict with Dan Abrams |
Template:Fixbunching Contessa Brewer (born March 16, 1974 in Parsonsfield, Maine) is an American news anchor for MSNBC.
Biography
Brewer graduated from Sacopee Valley High School in Hiram, Maine in 1992. She graduated magna cum laude from Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications with a B.S. in Broadcast Journalism in 1996, as well as a Certificate of Contemporary Europe following her political studies in Strasbourg, France.[1]
Brewer joined MSNBC in September 2003, after working for WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as a weekend anchor and general assignment reporter. She has also worked for KMIR-TV in Palm Springs, California from 1997 to 1999, and KRNV-TV in Reno, Nevada.[1] KMIR and WTMJ-TV are both owned by Journal Communications.
In the spring of 2005 Brewer served briefly as a news reader on the Imus in the Morning radio show, which was syndicated nationally. Her tenure was brief; she became embroiled in a public feud with Don Imus after the New York Post published a gossip item[2] in which she was allegedly overheard disparaging the radio personality. Imus replied, on air, with his own disparaging remarks directed at Brewer.[2] She later appeared as the news reader on Verdict with Dan Abrams before its cancellation in 2008. She and Dan Abrams would discuss the "Winners and Losers" of the day, as well as reading responses from readers. She hosts MSNBC Live weekdays at noon.
Brewer was criticized live on air by New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg. Gregg said she was "absurd", "fundamentally dishonest", "irresponsible" and lacked "integrity" for her handling of interviews.[3] Brewer has also been criticized for an on-air segment she held with a political pundit commenting on insults of Sarah Palin.
In 2009 Brewer received criticism for allegedly brewing a racial issue during a brief on-air segment which criticized the Tea Party movement.[4][5] An MSNBC spokesman said the criticism was a result of those commentators mistaking Brewer's intent.[6]
In May 2010, Brewer received criticism for her comments about the Times Square car bomb attempt:
There was part of me that was hoping this was not going to be anybody with ties to any kind of Islamic country, because there are a lot of people who want to use this terrorist intent to justify writing off people who believe in a certain way or come from certain countries or whose skin color is a certain way. I mean they use it as justification for really outdated bigotry.[7][8][9][10]
Although Brewer claimed the insults of Palin were light-hearted and innocent, when the very same insults were made of Brewer on-air she became emotional, cutting off the pundit and ending the segment abruptly.[11][12][13][14][15]
References
- ^ a b "Contessa Brewer - Meet the faces of MSNBC". MSNBC. 2007-02-22. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
- ^ a b "Don Imus Berates Contessa Brewer". Outside the Beltway. 2005-05-01. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
- ^ Drennen, Kyle (January 28, 2010), "GOP Senator Rips Into MSNBC Host For 'Absurd,' 'Dishonest,' Statements", NewsBusters, Media Research Center, retrieved May 6, 2010
- ^ http://www.arlingtoncardinal.com/2009/08/20/msnbcs-contessa-brewer-brews-a-race-issue-with-image-of-black-mans-race-concealed/
- ^ http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2010/20100416082909.aspx
- ^ http://hotair.com/archives/2009/08/20/msnbc-on-race-baiting-gun-segment-um-we-were-speaking-generally/
- ^ "Homegrown 'errorists'", The Augusta Chronicle, Augusta, Georgia, May 5, 2010, retrieved May 6, 2010
- ^ West, Diana (May 6, 2010), "Is there anyone left with America's interests at heart?", Galesburg Register–Mail, Galesburg, Illinois, retrieved May 6, 2010
- ^ O'Brien, Kevin (May 6, 2010), "We're worried about 'backlash' as the terrorists press our luck", The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, retrieved May 6, 2010
- ^ Spencer, Robert (May 5, 2010), "Denying Jihad—Again", FrontPage Magazine, Los Angeles, retrieved May 6, 2010
- ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/31232994#31206590
- ^ http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/06/10/brewer-spars-ziegler-about-palin-shuts-his-mike
- ^ http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200906100032
- ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/10/contessa-brewer-steamed-b_n_213782.html
- ^ http://dailyradar.com/beltwayblips/video/ziegler_brewer_tangle_over_letterman_attack_on_palin/