Willie Geist

Infobox journalist


name = Willie Geist
| birthname = William Russell Geist
birth_date = Birth date and age|1975|5|3
birth_place = Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = Commentator and Television Personality
alias =
gender = Male
status =
title = MSNBC's Morning Joe Co-Host, MSNBC.com's [http://zeitgeist.msnbc.msn.com/ "Zeitgeist"] Host
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
ethnic =
religion =
salary =
networth =
credits =
URL = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17241176/
agent =

William "Willie" Geist is co-host and frequent substitute host for MSNBC’s "Morning Joe" and contributor to several NBC News programs. Geist also hosts a satirical video blog on MSNBC.com called "Zeitgeist".cite web
url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17241176/
title=Willie Geist: MSNBC contributor
author=MSNBC
publisher=MSNBC
date=2007-04-05
accessdate=2007-08-01]

Personal life

Geist was born in Evanston, Illinois to author and columnist Bill Geist and social worker Jody Geist.

He attended Ridgewood High School in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and later went on to graduate from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. While at Vanderbilt University, Geist was a contributing editor to the university’s official student newspaper, The Vanderbilt Hustler.cite web
url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17241176/
title=Willie Geist: MSNBC contributor
author=MSNBC
publisher=MSNBC
date=2007-04-05
accessdate=2007-08-01]

On May 24, 2003, Geist married his high school sweetheart, Christina Sharkey, in Humacao, Puerto Rico.cite web
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F06E4DF1730F932A35755C0A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print
title=Wedding Vows/Celebrations
author=Shannon Donnelly
publisher=New York Times
date=2003-06-01
accessdate=2007-08-01] The couple has since announced the birth of a daughter, Lucie Joy Geist, on June 14, 2007.

Career

Geist began his career as an editor and producer for CNN Sports Illustrated, the 24-hour sports television network. He later became a reporter for CNN Sports; where he covered The Super Bowl, The NCAA Final Four, and The Masters.cite web
url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17241176/
title=Willie Geist: MSNBC contributor
author=MSNBC
publisher=MSNBC
date=2007-04-05
accessdate=2007-08-01]

In 2004, he became a writer and producer for I, Max, a sports commentary show hosted by "Max Kellerman" on Fox Sports Net.

Geist joined MSNBC television in April 2005 as a senior producer of The Situation with Tucker Carlson. During the show’s development, the producers decided Geist’s newsroom banter with Carlson should be a part of the show. He spent the last segment of the program, called "The Cutting Room Floor" (and later "In Other News"), reporting and offering his unique spin on the day’s news.cite web
url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17241176/
title=Willie Geist: MSNBC contributor
author=MSNBC
publisher=MSNBC
date=2007-04-05
accessdate=2007-08-01]

Geist began filling in as a co-host on MSNBC's 6-9am morning timeslot almost immediately after Don Imus was fired in late April, 2007. Geist was named permanent co-host of Morning Joe, along with Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski in October, 2007.

He also hosts a popular satirical video blog on MSNBC.com called [http://zeitgeist.msnbc.msn.com/ "Zeitgeist"] , which claims to report "All The News You Cannot Use".

Hosting credits

*"Zeitgeist" (2006-present)
*"Morning Joe" (2007-present)
*"Scarborough Country" (2006-2007)
*"Tucker (formerly The Situation with Tucker Carlson)" (2005-2008)
*"I, Max", Writer/Producer (2004-2005)

Popular Culture

On June 26, 2007, near the beginning of "Morning Joe", contributor Mika Brzezinski, refused to read a report about Paris Hilton's release from jail. After several unsupportive remarks from host Joe Scarborough, she attempted to burn the story's script on the air, but was physically prevented from lighting it by co-host Willie Geist. She then tore up the script, and one hour later, got up and ran another copy of the script through a paper shredder retrieved from Dan Abrams's office. The incident was dubbed sarcastically by Geist "the journalistic shot heard round the world".cite web
url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/29/whilton129.xml
title=Paris Hilton script screwed up, burnt and shredded
author=Felix Lowe
publisher=The Daily Telegraph
date=2007-06-29
accessdate=2007-08-01] cite web
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6252290.stm
title=Newscaster's on-air Paris protest
author=BBC News
publisher=BBC
date=2007-06-29
accessdate=2007-08-01]

On July 30, 2007, Geist reported on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe" program that he and Erin Burnett share a birthday.cite web
url=http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=1c885986-8865-495a-acb3-d7dd6d7d6a33&f=00&fg=copy
title=Willie Geist shares birthday with Burnett?
author=MSNBC video
publisher=MSNBC
date=2007-07-30
accessdate=2007-08-01] The next day, Geist recanted the previous report, stating, "I told you yesterday that we share a birthday. And you know what? It turns out that Wikipedia, where I get all my information, has let me down again. We do not share a birthday."cite web
url=http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=c5fd3736-9301-425a-8056-365e0bfa2298&f=00&fg=copy
title=Willie Geist claims error on Wikipedia
author=MSNBC video
publisher=MSNBC
date=2007-07-31
accessdate=2007-08-01]

References

External links

* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8063292/ Tucker] official website at MSNBC
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17241176/ Willie Geist] biography at MSNBC
*imdb name|id=1991550|name=Willie Geist
* [http://zeitgeist.msnbc.msn.com/ "Zeitgeist"] official website at MSNBC
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18786808/ "Zeitgeist" Archive] official website at MSNBC