Unlikely News Correspondents

unlikely news correspondents

Elizabeth Smart + ABC news correspondent. A former victim is transforming her plight into a high-profile media role.
Kidnap victim Elizabeth Smart has been hired as an ABC News correspondent to cover all missing persons stories for the network's news division.

Elizabeth Smart

In 2002, then-14-year-old Smart was kidnapped from her home and subjected to nine months of abuse and torture.

Elizabeth Smart + ABC News abduction contributor.

With Casey Anthony's surprising acquittal on murder charges in the case of her 2-year-old daughter's disappearance in 2008 dominating the headlines, it seems fitting that ABC News has tapped a missing persons "expert" as its newest paid contributor. The network's new specialist on the issue certainly has a unique background: She is Elizabeth Smart, who in 2002 and 2003 endured nine months of captivity and sexual abuse after she had been kidnapped at age 14 from her bedroom in Salt Lake City, Utah. In the conclusion of a survival story that was as miraculous as it was sickening, her primary abductor, Brian David Mitchell, was sentenced to life in prison on May 25.
Now Smart is set to embark on the next chapter of her life.
"I can confirm that Elizabeth Smart will be an ABC News contributor available to all ABC News programs and platforms," ABC News spokeswoman Julie Townsend told The Cutline. The news was first reported Wednesday night by the Daily Beast's Howard Kurtz, who was reasonably skeptical about Smart's addition to the ABC contributor roster.
"Other than fame—as the victim of a horrifying crime—what exactly are her qualifications?" he wrote. "Was this a way for ABC to land exclusive interviews by putting her on the payroll?"
Townsend suggested otherwise.
"Her contributions will be focused on looking ahead, not looking back at her own story," she said. "She'll help our viewers better understand missing person stories from someone with the perspective to know what a family experiences when a loved one goes missing." Townsend also said the network has "been talking to Elizabeth for quite some time."
But apart from the Anthony trial, the timing also seems apt in light of ABC's upcoming exclusive interview with onetime missing person Jaycee Dugard. Dugard had been kidnapped at age 11 and held for 18 years; during her captivity, she gave birth to two children fathered by her abductor. That interview, which was conducted by Diane Sawyer, is scheduled to air Sunday at 9 p.m.
Townsend wouldn't confirm whether Smart's ABC debut would be tied to the network's Dugard coverage, but said, "She could be on the air within the next few weeks."

Eliot Spitzer

The former governor resigned from his post in 2008 after the New York Times broke the story of his illicit behavior.

Former New York Governor Spitzer.

Eliot Spitzer + "Client No. 9"

Eliot Spitzer + CNN "In the Arena"

Eliot Spitzer quotes Theodore Roosevelt as he signs off as host of "In The Arena" on CNN. The show will air with guest hosts until "Anderson Cooper 360°" launches at 8pm ET on August 8.

Here's a transcript of Spitzer's farewell, including a passage from Roosevelt's "Citizenship in a Republic speech at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, on April 23, 1910:
SPITZER: That's it for tonight. This is my last program. And I thought the best way to sign off is with a quotation from Theodore Roosevelt. It is, in fact, the passage from which we took the title of the program "IN THE ARENA."
Here it is: It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood which strives valiantly, who errs, who comes up short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming, who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victor nor defeat.

Meghan McCain

This daughter of a major political figure became known for her outspoken opinions on fellow Republican women — including a journalist and another famous daughter.

Meghan McCain + The Daily Beast columnist

Brennan LaBrie

By age 10, LaBrie was producing his own newspaper in his hometown.

Brennan LaBrie + Youngest Olympics Reporter

Camille Grammer

This ex-wife of a sitcom vet garnered her own buzz as a reality star.

Camille Grammer + CNN Oscar correspondent

Kim Kardashian

This reality TV star's pending nuptials are now daily headline fodder.

Kim Kardashian + Entertainment Tonight correspondent

Kelly Osbourne

This daughter of a British rock legend became famous in the States, thanks to a brash reality series.

Kelly Osbourne + E! "Fashion Police" correspondent

NeNe Leakes

She's jumped from a cable reality TV franchise to a primetime one and has raised a ruckus on both.

Nene Leakes + 11Alive special correspondent

Ashley Greene

Teen fans know her from her box-office hit series and her high-profile romance.

Ashley Greene + MTV fashion correspondent