Here’s a story about what it took for me to appear on MSNBC this morning for five minutes to talk about my front-page story in the NYT. Or: Why it is so hard for working moms to have it all. (Thread)
I woke up at 5AM to my 1-year-old melting down in her crib. When I got up to put her back to sleep, I saw 6 missed calls on my phone. A few TV networks were asking if I could come on air. Happenstance #1 - Had the kiddo not woken up, I would have never see these messages in time.
Most of the requests needed me in a TV studio by 6-7AM, which is pretty impossible for most working moms, unless they can afford live-in or round-the-clock help. Most daycares and nannies start between 8-9. So immediately, the morning shows were out.
I was lucky, my mom was in town and could swing over on short notice. I told the networks I could make a show by 8:30, but it would need to be a studio near my house. Pt #2 - Had my mom not been in town, and a trooper, i probably wouldn’t have been able to do any of the shows.
So now it is 7:30. Baby is nursed and dressed. Grandma is in place, and I’ve even managed to brush my teeth! MSNBC calls and tells me the studio is farther away then I thought, and my slot has been moved up from 8:30 to 8. I’m breaking the speed limit to get there.
I arrive in studio, and I get a miracle parking spot. (Pt #3) There is no makeup person, and even if there was, the makeup is all made for caucasians. The camerawoman sees my panic and buys me 2 minutes to slap on some of my own makeup. (Bless you camerawoman).
And I’m on! It’s a story about Russia and the midterms, two subjects I know a lot about. I’ve written about them extensively, for the NYT and others. But because I’m a mom to a (young) kiddo, I often have to watch (male) colleagues go on to discuss my work.
I’m not blaming the TV studios. They have slots to fill and the day’s news is often unpredictable. But this is just one example of how the system isn’t set up for moms, and why doing it all, at work and at home, is often a shitshow.
And here is the segment. Also, for those DMing me, yes I have a (great) husband. But he's out of town and even if he wasn't, heads to work every day at 7AM. msnbc.com/velshi-ruhle/w…
