Newsreader explains Hilton story refusal

US newsreader Mika Brzezinski has become a heroine after her on-air refusal to read a Paris Hilton story instead on an item related to the Iraq war.

Brzezinski, co-host of Morning Joe on network MSNBC, stunned her bosses when she snubbed the leading item regarding Hilton's release from jail, believing the story did not deserve precedence over other reports regarding Iraq and the White House.