Last year, I wrote a short blog piece explaining how disappointed I was in NBC for giving Luke Russert a job right out of college (this was shortly after his pops had died), while the field of journalism struggles with mass layoffs and more qualified reporters, writers, and correspondents are in career limbo.
Well, NBC has done it again — this time hiring Jenna Bush Hager, the daughter of former President George W. Bush to be a correspondent covering education issues. I know a bit about education issues myself, having worked in a few higher education institutions while finishing my terminal graduate degree in the field, and let me tell you, I could probably rattle off a dozen more qualified people than Jenna Bush Hager for such a job. Sadly, my colleagues don’t have the privilege of being a President’s child.
But what makes this hiring more disturbing is the possibility that Jenna is a chip off the old block.
“I hope to focus on what I’m passionate about because I think I’d do them best job on them — education, urban education, women and children’s issues and literacy,” said Hager.
I’m hoping that the Associated Press misquoted her or made a typo because she doesn’t sound very articulate in the above cited statement, but time will tell, right?