Andrea Mitchell

Last updated

Andrea Mitchell
Andrea Mitchell interviewing guest at Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) annual conference and briefing in Washington D.C. on November 15, 2023 (cropped).jpg
Mitchell in 2023
Born (1946-10-30) October 30, 1946 (age 78)
Alma mater University of Pennsylvania (BA)
OccupationNews anchor
Years active1967–present
Notable credit(s) NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent,
NBC Nightly News ,
Today ,
Andrea Mitchell Reports
Title NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent
NBC News Chief Washington Correspondent
Host, Andrea Mitchell Reports
Spouses
  • Gil Jackson (div. 1970s)
  • (m. 1997)

Andrea Mitchell (born October 30, 1946) [1] is an American television journalist, anchor and commentator for NBC News, based in Washington, D.C.

Contents

She is NBC News' chief foreign affairs & chief Washington correspondent, reporting on the 2008 presidential election campaign for NBC News broadcasts, including NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Today and MSNBC. She anchors Andrea Mitchell Reports, which airs from noon to 1 p.m. ET weekdays on MSNBC. On October 29, 2024, in closing remarks on her show, Mitchell announced she will be leaving the full time anchor chair in early 2025. Mitchell will remain in her role as chief foreign affairs correspondent.

Mitchell has both appeared on and guest hosted Meet the Press. She was also often a guest on Hardball with Chris Matthews and The Rachel Maddow Show.

In 2019, Mitchell earned a Lifetime Achievement Emmy for her journalistic work. [2]

Early life, education, and early career

Mitchell was raised in a Jewish family, [3] from New Rochelle, New York, the daughter of Sydney Mitchell, a businessman, and his wife, Cecile Mitchell.

Her father was the chief executive officer and partial owner of a furniture manufacturing company in Manhattan. He was also the president of Beth El Synagogue in New Rochelle for 40 years. Her mother was an administrator at the New York Institute of Technology in Manhattan. [4] Her brother Arthur and his wife, Nancy Mitchell, moved to British Columbia in the 1970s. He has dual American and Canadian citizenship, becoming a member of the Legislative Assembly of Yukon and the leader of the Yukon Liberal Party in the 2000s. [5]

Mitchell is a graduate of New Rochelle High School. [6] She went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature in 1967. While at Penn, she served as news director of student radio station WXPN. Staying in Philadelphia after graduation, she was hired as a reporter at KYW radio. She rose to prominence as the station's City Hall correspondent during the Mayor Frank Rizzo’s administration and also reported for sister station KYW-TV.

She moved in 1976 to CBS-affiliate WTOP (now WUSA) in Washington, D.C. Two years later, Mitchell moved to NBC's network news operation, where she served as a general correspondent. In 1979, she was named NBC News' energy correspondent and reported on the late-1970s energy crisis and the Three Mile Island nuclear accident. Mitchell also covered the White House from 1981 until becoming chief congressional correspondent in 1988. [7]

NBC News and MSNBC

Mitchell reporting from the floor of the 2008 Democratic National Convention Andrea Mitchell 2008 DNC day 2 (2894755038).png
Mitchell reporting from the floor of the 2008 Democratic National Convention
Mitchell interviewing Secretary of State John Kerry in 2015 Secretary Kerry is Interviewed by Andrea Mitchell in Cuba (20555381186).jpg
Mitchell interviewing Secretary of State John Kerry in 2015

Mitchell has been with NBC News since late July 1978. She has been its chief foreign affairs correspondent since November 1994. [8] Previously, she served as chief White House correspondent (1993–1994) and chief Congressional correspondent (1988–1992). [7]

In 2005, Mitchell's book, Talking Back... to Presidents, Dictators, and Assorted Scoundrels, ( ISBN   978-0-143-03873-3), was published. It chronicles her work as a journalist.

Since 2008, Mitchell has hosted Andrea Mitchell Reports on MSNBC.

Controversies

Plame affair

A report in The Washington Post ("Bush Administration Is Focus of Inquiry CIA Agent's Identity Was Leaked to Media" by Mike Allen and Dana Priest, The Washington Post, September 28, 2003) that Mitchell had leaked Valerie Plame's identity led to her being questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In October 2003, on the Capitol, Mitchell said, "It was widely known amongst those of us who cover the intelligence community and who were actively engaged in trying to track down who among the foreign service community was the envoy to Niger. But, frankly, I wasn't aware of [Plame's] actual role at the CIA, and the fact that she had a covert role involving weapons of mass destruction, not until Bob Novak wrote it." [9]

Sudanese incident

During a July 2005 news conference in Khartoum, Mitchell was forcibly ejected from a room after asking Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir some pointed questions. They included: "Can you tell us why the violence is continuing?" (referring to genocide in Sudan's Darfur province) and "Can you tell us why the government is supporting the militias?" "Why should Americans believe your promises?" [10]

After the incident Mitchell said, "It is our job to ask. They can always say 'no comment'... but to drag a reporter out just for asking is inexcusable behavior." [10]

Before the incident, Sudanese officials had expressed reservations about allowing American newspaper or television reporters to join the Sudanese press pool. Sean McCormack, the State Department's assistant secretary for public affairs, said to his Sudanese counterpart, "I'll convey your desires about not permitting reporters to ask questions, but that's all I'll do. We have a free press." McCormack's Sudanese counterpart replied, "There is no freedom of the press here." [11] [12]

Offensive remarks

During an appearance on MSNBC on June 5, 2008, Mitchell referred to the voters of the southwest Virginia region as rednecks. [13] [14] On June 9, she apologized on air, saying "I owe an apology to the good people of Bristol, Virginia, for something stupid that I said last week. I was trying to explain, based on reporting from Democratic strategists, why Barack Obama was campaigning in southwest Virginia, but without attribution or explanation, I used a term strategists often use to demean an entire community. No excuses, I'm really sorry." [15]

Having been led to believe that a clip showed that presidential candidate Mitt Romney was impressed by a touchscreen at a Wawa convenience store, Mitchell and contributor Chris Cillizza laughed when it was shown on Andrea Mitchell Reports, [16] alluding to a widely held myth that George H. W. Bush was unfamiliar with a supermarket scanner in an incident during his 1992 campaign. [17] She suggested this might be Romney's "supermarket scanner moment." [18] She said, "I get the feeling that Mitt Romney has not been in too many Wawas along the roadside of Pennsylvania." The full clip puts his comments in the context of his claim that Wawa's "touchtone keypads" (touchscreens) show efficiency in the private sector compared to his statement that it took multiple filings of a 33-page government form for an optometrist to change his address. [18] [19] [20] [21]

Mitchell briefly addressed complaints from the Republican National Committee and Romney's campaign the following day. Introducing the full clip, Mitchell stated, "The RNC and the campaign both reached out to us, saying that Romney had more to say on that visit about federal bureaucracy and innovation in the private sector. We didn't get a chance to play that, so here it is now." [19]

In February 2019, Mitchell characterized the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising as being against "the Polish and Nazi regimes." She apologized on Twitter for her comment. The Polish Institute of National Remembrance sued Mitchell in Polish court for alleging that Poland played a role in the Holocaust. [22]

Personal life

Mitchell with husband Alan Greenspan in 2000 Alan Greenspan and Andrea Mitchell.jpg
Mitchell with husband Alan Greenspan in 2000

She married her second husband, then Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan, on April 6, 1997, following a lengthy relationship. [4] Previously, she was married to Gil Jackson; that marriage ended in divorce in the mid-1970s.

On September 7, 2011, Mitchell revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer during a doctor's visit a few weeks earlier. It was caught early and treated. [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

MSNBC is an American news-based television channel and website headquartered in New York City. It is owned by NBCUniversal — a subsidiary of Comcast — and provides news coverage and political commentary. The network produces live broadcasts for its channel from studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, New York City, and aggregates its coverage and commentary on its website, msnbc.com.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NBC News</span> News division of NBCUniversal

NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations report to the president of NBC News, Rebecca Blumenstein. The NBCUniversal News Group also comprises MSNBC, the network's 24-hour general news channel, business and consumer news channels CNBC and CNBC World, the Spanish language Noticias Telemundo and United Kingdom–based Sky News.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Candy Crowley</span> American news anchor

Candy Alt Crowley is an American news anchor who was employed as CNN's chief political correspondent, specializing in American national and state elections. She was based in CNN's Washington, D.C. bureau and was the anchor of its Sunday morning talk show State of the Union with Candy Crowley. She has covered elections for over two decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Gregory (journalist)</span> American television journalist and presenter

David Michael Gregory is an American television personality and the former host of NBC News' Sunday morning talk show Meet the Press. Gregory has served as a CNN political analyst since 2016.

The Plame affair erupted in July 2003, when journalist Robert Novak revealed that Valerie Plame worked as covert employee of the Central Intelligence Agency, although the seeds of the scandal had been laid during 2001 and 2002 as the Bush administration investigated allegations that Iraq had purchased Nigerien uranium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norah O'Donnell</span> American television journalist

Norah Morahan O'Donnell is an American television journalist who is the anchor of the CBS Evening News, a correspondent for 60 Minutes, and host of Person to Person. She has worked with several mainstream media outlets throughout her career, including as former co-anchor of CBS This Morning, Chief White House Correspondent for CBS News, and a substitute host for CBS's Sunday morning show Face the Nation.

<i>MSNBC Reports</i> American television news program

MSNBC Reports is the blanket title for the daytime rolling news programming block of the American cable news channel MSNBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolle Wallace</span> American TV political commentator (born 1972)

Nicolle Wallace is an American television political commentator and author. She is the anchor of the MSNBC news and politics program Deadline: White House and a former co-host of the ABC daytime talk show The View. Wallace is a political analyst for MSNBC and NBC News. She was previously a frequent on-air contributor to the programs Today, The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle, and Morning Joe, before hosting her own program on MSNBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrea Kremer</span> American sports journalist

Andrea Kremer is a multi-Emmy Award-winning American television sports journalist. She previously called Thursday Night Football games for Amazon Prime Video making sports history, along with Hannah Storm, by becoming the first all-women booth to call any major men's team sport, not just football. Kremer is also Chief Correspondent for the NFL Network and previously led the network's coverage and in-depth reporting on health and safety. Her other current roles include correspondent for HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel as well as co-host of We Need To Talk, the first ever all-female nationally televised weekly sports show on CBS. Until the 2011 season, she worked as a sideline reporter for NBC on the network's coverage of Sunday Night Football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Shuster</span> American television journalist

David Martin Shuster is an American television journalist. Shuster previously served as principal anchor and managing editor for i24 News, previously working as an anchor for MSNBC and worked for Fox News, CNN, Current TV, The Young Turks, and Al Jazeera America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Yellin</span> American journalist

Jessica Sage Yellin is an American journalist. Focused primarily on politics, she was the Chief White House Correspondent for CNN in Washington, D.C. from 2011 to 2013. Described herself as "one of the most powerful women in Washington," Yellin began reporting for CNN as the network's senior political correspondent in 2007, covering Capitol Hill, domestic politics and the White House. Her debut novel, Savage News, was published in April 2019.

Morning Joe is an American morning news talk show, which airs weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on the cable news channel MSNBC. It features former US Representative (Independent) Joe Scarborough reporting and discussing the news of the day in a panel format with co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist, who regularly co-hosts from Tuesdays to Fridays, along with recurring and special guests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lilia Luciano</span> Puerto Rican journalist

Lilia Luciano is a journalist, filmmaker, podcaster and public speaker born and raised in Puerto Rico. She is currently a national correspondent and anchor at CBS News based in New York and host of the iHeart Radio podcast, El Flow. Before CBS News she worked as the investigative reporter at ABC 10 in Sacramento and was the chief investigative correspondent on Discovery Channel's Border Live. Her coverage of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas earned her and her CBS News team an Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Breaking News Coverage in 2023.

<i>Andrea Mitchell Reports</i> News show on MSNBC hosted by American journalist Andrea Mitchell

Andrea Mitchell Reports is a news show on MSNBC broadcast weekdays at 12 PM ET/9 AM PT hosted by Andrea Mitchell. She originally was an anchor under the MSNBC Live umbrella before getting her own distinct show, although as of March 2021, the program is branded as part of its successor MSNBC Reports. She is NBC News’ Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent. While the show is based in Washington, D.C., it will typically go on location to where Mitchell is reporting for NBC News.

MSNBC is a news and political commentary organization that has been the focus of several controversies. It has been accused by academics, media figures, political figures, and watchdog groups of having various biases in their news coverage as well as more general views of a liberal bias. Most of these controversies took place during the 2015–2024 era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kasie Hunt</span> American journalist and news anchor (born 1985)

Kasie Sue Hunt is an American political correspondent for CNN, and host of CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt. From 2013 to 2021, she was NBC News' Capitol Hill correspondent, covering Congress across all NBC News and MSNBC platforms, and was the host of MSNBC's Way Too Early with Kasie Hunt and Kasie DC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hallie Jackson</span> American television journalist (born 1984)

Hallie Marie Jackson is an American reporter and network anchor. She is the senior Washington correspondent for NBC News, an anchor for NBC News Now, and the anchor of the Sunday edition of NBC Nightly News. She is also a substitute anchor for Today, Saturday Today, Sunday Today With Willie Geist, and NBC Nightly News. She worked in Salisbury, Maryland; Dover, Delaware; Hartford, Connecticut; New Haven, Connecticut; and Baltimore, Maryland, before joining NBC News in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yamiche Alcindor</span> American journalist (born 1986)

Yamiche Léone Alcindor is an American journalist who is a Washington correspondent for NBC News. In the past, she has worked as the host of Washington Week on PBS and as a reporter for PBS NewsHour, USA Today, and The New York Times. Alcindor writes mainly about politics and social issues.

A supermarket scanner moment is a political gaffe in which a politician is portrayed as out-of-touch with everyday affairs. The term derives from a 1992 New York Times report that characterized sitting U.S. President George H. W. Bush as being amazed by commonplace supermarket barcode scanner technology at a grocers' convention. Political commentators widely spread the story, portraying Bush as unfamiliar with daily American life. Though other major media outlets soon refuted the report as a mischaracterization, the popular memory of Bush's reported amazement at a supermarket scanner remains one of the most enduring American political myths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garrett Haake</span> American journalist


Garrett Haake is an American journalist who works as the Senior Capitol Hill Correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC.

References

  1. October 30, 2013. Happy Birthday To New Rochelle's Andrea Mitchell. The Daily Voice. Retrieved: 15 March 2014.
  2. Arkin, Daniel (July 15, 2019). "Andrea Mitchell to receive lifetime achievement award at news Emmys". NBC News . Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  3. Cantor, Danielle (undated). "Andrea Mitchell" Archived December 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine . Jewish Woman. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Alan Greenspan, Andrea Mitchell". The New York Times . April 6, 1997.
  5. Yukon Liberal Party Leader: Arthur Mitchell, cbc.ca. Retrieved 11 February 2012
  6. "List of Distinguished Alumni". New Rochelle High School. Archived from the original on December 20, 2008. see list of Distinguished Alumni
  7. 1 2 "Andrea Mitchell - NBCNightlyNews - About Us". NBC News . December 12, 2003. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  8. National Book Festival. "Andrea Mitchell". Library of Congress . Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  9. (PDF).
  10. 1 2 "TV reporter says she's angry after Sudan incident". Augusta Chronicle. July 23, 2005. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  11. "Daily Nightly: Brian previews Friday's newscast". NBC News . July 21, 2005. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  12. "Sudanese scuffle symbolic of disregard for own". NBC News . July 21, 2005. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  13. Linkins, Jason (June 13, 2008). "MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Refers To Rural Virginians As 'Rednecks'". The Huffington Post . Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  14. Calderone, Michael (June 9, 2008). "NBC's Mitchell to address "redneck" comment". Politico . Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  15. MSNBC Live, MSNBC. June 9, 2008.
  16. Byers, Dylan (June 18, 2012). "MSNBC mischaracterizes Romney remarks". Politico .
  17. "Why There Aren't Supermarket Scanner Moments Anymore". June 20, 2012. Time . Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  18. 1 2 Wemple, Erik (June 19, 2012). "MSNBC faces pressure on Romney's Wawa moment". The Washington Post . Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  19. 1 2 Mirkinson, Jack (June 19, 2012). "MSNBC Romney Edit Draws Fire; Andrea Mitchell Briefly Addresses Controversy (Video)". The Huffington Post . Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  20. Fallows, James (June 18, 2012). "Wawa vs. the Post Office: Bus-Capade Update". The Atlantic . Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  21. Sullivan, Andrew (June 18, 2012). "A 33 Page Form To Change Your Address?". The Dish. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  22. Markusz, Katarzyna (March 1, 2019). "Poland Institute Sues NBC's Mitchell for Conflating Poland with Nazis". The Jerusalem Post . Jewish Telegraphic Agency . Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  23. "NBC's Andrea Mitchell reveals she has breast cancer". September 7, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
Preceded by
John Palmer
NBC News Chief White House CorrespondentSucceeded by
Brian Williams