Mika Brzezinski: Serious Journalist or Just A Modern Day Wendy to the Lost Boys?

Mika Brzezinski is the co-host on the pseudo news morning program Morning Joe. I say news because they talk about the news and don't have the shopping/cooking segments or celebrity interviews that is the staple of other morning shows, between news reading. I say pseudo because, well, what it really is is the Smurfs with a Smufette, or Peter Pan and the Lost Boys with Wnedy.

They do talk about the news, they even have legitimate guests such as former U.S. National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, Jonathan Capehart--WaPo editorial writer, Ted Sorensen--former JFK speechwriter, Doris Kearns Goodwin--historian and former LBJ aide, Tom Daschle--former Dem senator, Terry McAuliffe--Clinton campaign chairman, and Jon Meacham--Newsweek editor, and Mitt Romney--former GOP presidential candidate.

Chuck Todd, Andrea Mitchell,Harold Ford, Jr. and Pat Buchanan served as panelists]. Chuck Todd, Andrea Mitchell,Harold Ford, Jr. and Pat Buchanan served as panelists. Sounds like real news, huh? Well, no you are wrong.

There are people who talk about the news, including many of the same people who appear on the evenly MSNBC shows, but much of the show is Joe teasing Mika. He teases her about her 'drug usage', being mugged, and a myriad of other silly, little boy things while Mika rolls her eyes and the other boys mug.

So, my Monkey Brained argument here is two fold.

1. Is Mika Brzezinski wasted on this silly show? Will it hurt what could be a promising career? Or is she doing the best she could with meager talent and a name?

2. Is this kind of show a disservice to all women. I will compare the situation to The Smurfs and Smurfette and to Peter Pan, His Lost Boys and Wendy.

I hope you will participate in both duals. Thank you for coming to the lens.

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is an MSNBC evening Show, more serious and more prestigious by far than Morning Joe. Mica has subbed there. How well did she do. Interestingly, I was unable to find any You Tube Video about her being on that show,

The question is: How much has the Morning Joe circus hurt her chances to get a better job? Here is the poll for viewer choice of anchor. She got some votes, in the small poll, but was far from the favorite. Could the set up on Morning Joe be hurting her?

Who should host MSNBC's "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue"?

David Schuster 54% (97 votes)

Alison Stewart 11% (20 votes)

Mika Brzezinski 15% (26 votes)

Milissa Rehberger 2% (3 votes)

Norah O'Donnell 10% (18 votes)

Other 8% (15 votes)

Look for a review from me shortly, but I am hopeful she may be coming into her own. I have seen TV interviews and its good.

Frankly, while Mika Brzezinski could be a serious journalist, or at least anchor woman,she is nothing more to Wendy to this motley crew of Scarborough as Peter Pan with his Lost Boys, or worse yet The Smurfette to the Smurfs

My concern is that she is going to ruin her reputation and fall into some very bad and hard to change habits.

I understand that these kinds of jobs are not easy to come by. i cannot say that I would turn it down if it were offered to me. However, what can the future be here?

Is Mika Brzezinski Wasting Herself on Morning Joe?

I think it is worse than the network shows such as Today and Good Morning America as they do not pretend to be serious journalism. Thus when they do have serious segments, they take them seriously. Morning Joe will mug and pan and mock Mika through the most serious stories, such as former U.S. National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski's analysis of the Gaza situation that could threaten the world.

Yes, we know it is all in fun. Or so we are supposed to assume if we are good sports. And of course Wendy, tries to keep the boys in line,

Mica's father is former U.S. National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski. They have him on the show occasionally to talk about national security. Mica, stays, but refuses to interview him. I don't know if this is her being professional, or just going along with the pseudo professional theme of the show. However, at his appearance on December 29th of 2008, to discuss Gaza and the current fighting in the area there was a disruption. Joe was being silly, and then said "you cannot blame what's going on in Israel on the Bush administration." This prompted Zbig to reply, "You know, you have such a stunningly superficial knowledge of what went on that it's almost embarrassing to listen to you."

Joe continued to try to make fun of the situation, but it was Mica's mugging for the camera that concerned me. Was she really so embarrassed that she couldn't contain herself, not very professional, or is this her Smurfette role in the show? Is she being Wendy to the misbehaving Peter Pan?

One morning Mike was mugged before coming to the show. She lost $6. Joe insists on making a huge issue out of it, much to Mika's clear embarrassment. He made an issue when the mayor of Washington was on, he interrupted other stories, he tried to make Mika upset. He was a brat. She was professional, he was a brat.

Joe Scarborough won 3 elections for the House of Representatives from Florida. While in office he received an award from American Conservative Union for voting their positions 95% of the time.

Shortly after winning his 4th election, he suddenly resigned to spend more time with his boys. Shortly after this announcement a 28 year old employee was found dead in his office.

"FORT WALTON BEACH, FL. - Lori Klausutis, a 28-year-old office worker for Rep. Joe Scarborough (R-Fl), was found dead in the congressman's district office. Police said preliminary findings from the medical examiner's office showed no foul play or any outward indication of suicide."

There were two notable results from this. The first is that both he and an aide gave press conferences stating that they knew of a neurological disease that could have caused the mysterious death. It turned out that there was no such disease. The second is that while at this time Gary Conyers had been daily news around the disappearance of Chandra Levy, the death of Ms Klausutis in Scarborough's office was only covered in one local paper.

Since then he has talked about a presidential run, worked as an attorney and hosted an evening show, Scarborough Country, on MSNBC. This show had mediocre to poor ratings. He has done better with Morning Joe, due in part to the patter with Mika Brzezinski and the interest in Barack Obama, something that has helped all MSNBC shows rise in popularity.

I have compared this show to the Smurfs and Smurfette. You may wonder why. You can read more about the Smurfs in the Wiki article, however, know that this article does not mention Smurfette. You see, the Smurfs are a cartoon, much like the Seven Dwarfs. Each one has a different personality and a different function and is named to describe that. Much like the guys on Morning Joe, except for the names, of course.

Then there is Smurfette, who doesn't even get a mention. She is the one female character and she is all females; all girls. No need for differentiation of personality. Mica is the anchorette here. 'ette' is a phrase that Rush Limbaugh attaches to all female journalists and most other jobs to show contempt. I don't have contempt for Mica, not yet, but I am concerned that her position on this show is very much an 'ette'.

Peter Pan enters the nursery to take Wendy and her little brothers to Never Never Land, where boys don't have to grow up. Peter needs Wendy, just a girl herself, to grow up and be their mother.

The boys on morning Joe are certainly lost. They need Mika to give them any legitimacy, while making the days as difficult as they can.

This, if you haven't seen it, is Morning Joe.

Mika refuses to read the "Paris Hiltion Gets Out of Jail" story as the lead story. She tried to ignore it, then burn it, then shreds it, while the guys make light of her.

I think she was serious here. However, how long can she stay with this show, where her job seems to be to give the naughty boys something to make fun of?

As I searched for pictures of Mika Brzezinski for this lens, about 20% of what came up where pictures of Paris Hilton.

Mika refused to let Paris be the news when there was a war to report on. Mika is mocked and teased by the men who would have read the story as lead. A search for Mika's pictures results in pictures of Paris Hilton.

Now, imagine that happening to any male newsperson, no matter how frivolous he might he. Has it every happened to Joe?

Just as Smufette is supposed to represent all females, we still live in a world where people tend to see one woman as representing all women.

Thus when a woman is in the supposed role of news anchor, people who watch her tend to see all female news anchors or maybe even professional women as being like her.

Thus when any woman, such a Mika Brzezinski is in a position in the public people tend to unconsciously judge all women by her. People who think that Joe Scarborough is Peter Pan or a cartoon Smurf will not have the rub off on all male news persons. However, Mika's Wendy or Smurfette tend to rub off on all women.

Do You Think That Mika's Role On Morning Joe Hurts Women's Image?

and what I eventually decide will probably depend on how long she stays on Morning Joe. This is a good place for exposure, but it is a kind of exposure that could backfire

We will see what happens, but I hope you expressed your opinion here. Be sure to watch the show to help you decide!

More on Morning Joe

Morning Joe was brought in to replace the Imus Show when his radio/TV program was canceled do to the uproar about the comments about the Rutger's Women's Basketball Team. Joe Scarborough, for whom the show is named, had had an evening show, with poor ratings. He suggested this morning contrast to other morning shows that feature cooking segments and celebrity interviews. This is supposed to be serious morning news, however, it is actually a daily review with Peter Pan and the Lost Boys with Mika as Wendy.

However, it was one thing for the boys' club of Imus (i enjoyed that show and disagreed with those who canceled it) has a bimbo who they all use as a butt of jokes. It is something else when Morning Joe does this to an intelligent woman.

But, then, that's my opinion. If you have seen it, you will have your own. If you haven't seen it, please do.