Mika Brzezinski: I Almost Left 'Morning Joe' Over Pay Disparity

[RamboLiberal]

Mika Brzezinski revealed on Thursday's "Morning Joe" that she almost left the show in 2008 because she was being paid so much less than her male colleagues.

Brzezinski recounts her fight about her pay disparity in her new book, "Knowing Your Value." She told her fellow panelists--including Nora Ephron and Norah O'Donnell, who are featured in the book--what happened.

"I had found out that I was the lowest paid at the table and sometimes by far," she said. "I didn't think I should be making more than any of you guys...but these were vast." (How vast? In another interview, Brzezinski said she was making fourteen times less than co-host Joe Scarborough.) She said that she came to the conclusion that she was "at the bottom of the barrel inside because of the deal I had cut for myself."

Willie Geist asked her why she didn't walk away. "We fixed it," Brzezinski said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/06/mika-brzezinski-i-almost-_n_858495.html

She should've walked as well over the way Joe S. treats her like his little minion.

[HipChick]

1. If it wasn't for her dad added some level of credibitilty

to her ..ever now and again..

[BeyondGeography]

2. They're all overpaid, the men only moreso

[FSogol]

3. Co-host? I thought she was a sidekick. Surely, Robin doesn't earn as much as Batman.

:shrug:

[Lorien]

13. But 14 TIMES less? And less than other MALE co-hosts?

No, sorry, but this is bullshit. I've never watched the show., but I've heard her mentioned here on DU many, many, many times-so obviously many of you think that she DOES "contribute" quite a lot. But there's always an excuse for screwing us out of equal pay. I've heard it all before: "Men just need more stuff" (yeah, tell that to the single mom who raised my sister and I after dad left), "You can always get married; you don't really need a job", "We just don't feel that you contribute as much" (after having fixed male co-worker's work and turning the same job in in half the time WITHOUT all the errors). Misogyny is alive and well here and everywhere else in America.

[Honeycombe8]

16. True. The way I take it, Mika was paid less than everyone else, incl. Willie the Kid.

You're also right about the excuses used for paying men more. I've heard it all, too. Men NEED more money...they're the primary breadwinners.....they work harder.....they don't have babies......etc., etc.

The baby thing...they have a point. If someone takes off for several months, and someone else doesn't, ipso facto the one who doesn't take off is worth more, regardless of the reason, IMO.

But the other reasons are bogus. As I told one man, well, if you go by NEED for wages, then it follows that a man with TWO children would get paid more than a man with ONE child, and a man with FOUR children would get paid a lot more than a man with ONE child...and a man who supports his parents would get paid more than a man whose parents are deceased. But people aren't paid according to what they NEED. People are paid according to what the company pays for a particular job.

I also think that sometimes the reason is that men are more assertive in negotiating pay, and don't feel squemish or have qualms talking about money and pay with employers and HR. They just accept it as a fact of life, and move on. As for myself, my throat tightens up just at the thought of it. And I think it's less accepted for women to try to negotiate more money. Just like when women are assertive and require certain things, they're more apt to be thought of as unreasonable, demanding, difficult, bitchy.

[Hutzpa]

4. But she doesn't contribute much

other than uh-uh, hmmmm, well, oww, sounds about right then -- those are all I can hear from her when
I used to watch morning Joe, thinking bout it it's been over 3 years now, damn!

[itsrobert]

5. Joe Scarborough's rating were a failure in prime time

He was still under contract when Imus was fired, so instead of letting Scarborough walk with a contract, MSNBC gave him one last chance in the morning slot. Scarborough was still being paid for his prime time gig, that's why the pay discrepancy. That, and because Scarborough is the 'star' of the show and Mika is there for eye candy and the stooge for Joe's antics.

[underpants]

12. They should have given the spot to Stephanie Miller

but then we can't have anything other than counter to the conventional wisdom being brought up at the watercooler now can we?

[monmouth]

22. Stephanie is way too smart for Joe. He couldn't handle it....n/t

[Ramulux]

6. Thats fucked up

Morning Joe is a terrible show that MSNBC should be embarrassed of, but paying Mika 14 times less than Joe is insanity.

If she had any integrity she would have quit and went public with this story when she first became aware of it. I'm sure its still happening to other female co-workers at MSNBC if it was happening to Mika.

[LeftofObama]

7. She should make sure security escorts her every time she

needs to go to Joe's office, though. Remember what happened when he was a congressman?

[karnac]

8. If all she does is give Joe a dirty look when he says something dispicable,

no.

[Uzybone]

9. The "liberal" MSNBC with a solid 14:1 ratio for man to woman pay

[toddwv]

21. She should ask the daytime crew of anchors. It seems to be primarily female.

Tamaron Hall...mmmmmmmmm.

[sufrommich]

10. She was making way less than anybody else at the table.

Not just Scarborough, but Geist and that old grouchy guy. If she isn't an equal to Scar then why does every still picture they include before and after commercials show her and Joe cavorting in some ridiculous pose? Guh, I hate defending Mika, I can't stand her, but this was obviously unfair.

[SoCalDem]

11. Mika was hired to be eye candy for the 45+ male set

when she was first hired, she only read the headlines every so often.,.she did not even sit with the almighty Joe.

She was just floating along, not fully employed at the time..just another "aging Barbie", so of course her contract would have been minuscule.

If not for the Paris Hilton brouhaha , she would have never become more that what she was.

They are all overpaid for what they do

[sufrommich]

15. And Willy Geist got his job because his father is Bill Geist.

Scarborough got his job because he's a blowhard ex congressman,I have no idea where the old grouchy guy came from. They're all blubbering idiots, why should one blubbering idiot get paid less than the others?

[Ikonoklast]

14. If her last name was Smith, she wouldn't even have a job.

Her prattle adds little of value to a show already devoid of most value.

Everyone makes their own deals, however, and she must have had a lousy contract negotiator.

[Atman]

17. I can guess what the pay deal was...wear a lower cut sweater and giggle a lot.

Seriously. I remember when Mika was the only sane one on that show. The smart one, the "real" one. Probably about the time she got the pay thing settled is when she turned into a simpering schoolgirl fawning over her boss. She got daddy in to balance out the gravitas...but sold her soul in the process. I really used to like her. I still like her when she actually gets mad and stands her ground. Trouble is, I can't recall when that last happened.





She is pretty hot, though. :hi:

[gratuitous]

18. She shoulda walked off the set

And gone somewhere else where they would pay her what she's worth more.

[Curmudgeoness]

19. Now you went and made my blood pressure skyrocket!

Damn it. This happens at my job at a 2:1 ratio, with every male there making more than any female. But what do you do when you need a job. I'll tell you what you do---you get super pissed at stories like this.

I have to go do some deep breathing exercises now. Before I blow up.

:mad:

[The Second Stone]

20. What the hell does 14 times less mean?

One fourteenth? That you would have to multiply her salary 14 times to equal the other guy? I see the media use X times less so often that I think they think America is too dumb to use fractions any more.