D I A R Y
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# M O M M Y
MOGUL
MADE By Kris D. Williams
B
eing a wife, mommy
and TV producer
during an election
year gives “multitasking” a whole new
meaning for Scarlette
Whyte. Scarlette is a
seasoned producer
who recently left MSNBC to join CNN’s The
Lead w/ Jake Tapper as a senior editorial
producer. From keeping up with the 2016
candidates to running behind an energetic
one year old AND attempting to keep date
nights with her husband, Scarlette seems to
have achieved the work/life balance. But
she admits, it is a daily struggle. Scarlette
experienced the harsh realities of being
a working mom in television within the
first few weeks of returning to work after
maternity leave earlier this year. “I was
working at MSNBC at the time. Primary
season was in full swing. That meant
working late nights. I knew that daycare
was not an option. I needed a nanny! We
were not happy with any of the nannies
we interviewed .” With no other choice,
Scarlette sent her then 4-month-old son to
Michigan to stay with her parents. “I was
devastated. My son leaving was hard, but
not knowing when he was coming home
tore me apart. I was breastfeeding at the
time. So I was pumping, and overnighting
breastmilk every 5 days.” It was the advice
of her parents, grandma and another mom
who was a fellow TV producer that got
Scarlette through.
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