Ellison Barber

Not to be confused with Allison Barber.

Ellison Barber
Barber in 2019
Born	(1989-10-20) October 20, 1989 (age 35) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Education	Wofford College [1]
Occupation	Journalist
Employer	NBC News
Partner	Shannon Woodward

Ellison Litton Barber ^[1] is an American journalist and correspondent for NBC News. She frequently reports from conflict zones and contributes reporting to all NBC News platforms, including NBC News, MSNBC and NBC News Now. ^[2] Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, she graduated from Wofford College with a Bachelor of Arts in English in 2012. ^[3]

Barber spent months on the ground reporting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine ^[4] and was among the first group of international correspondents to report on the Gaza war in 2023. ^{[5] [6]}

Career

Barber served as a general assignment reporter and the Prince George's County Deputy Bureau Chief for Washington's CBS affiliate, WUSA. ^[7] At WUSA, Barber reported on an array of stories, ^{[8] [9] [10]} including the 2015 Washington, D.C., mass killing of the Savopoulos family and their housekeeper Veralicia Figueroa, the March 2016 U.S. Capitol lockdown, ^[11] and the protests following the shooting of Terrence Sterling. ^{[12] [13]} While at WUSA, Barber interviewed Washington Capitals' star Alexander Ovechkin during a blizzard. ^[14] The unintentional encounter went viral. ^{[15] [16] [17]}

Fox News (2017-2020)

In April 2017, she joined Fox News as a general assignment correspondent. ^{[13] [18]}

Ellison Barber and her crew at the UNHCR refugee assistance camp in Maicao, Colombia in May 2019.

In 2019, Barber reported on the political turmoil in Venezuela and the resulting refugee crisis in neighboring countries. ^{[19] [20]} She and her crew were reporting on the Venezuela-Colombia border when gunfire erupted near the Simón Bolívar International Bridge ^[21] and a thirty-minute shootout ensued. ^{[22] [23] [24]} Barber was also the first reporter for a U.S.-based English-language network to travel to Maicao, Colombia and cover the UNHCR assistance camp set up to help refugees fleeing the political crisis in Venezuela. ^[25]

NBC News (2020-present)

Barber joined NBC News as a New York-based correspondent on April 15, 2020. ^[26]

She extensively reported on the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic in the United States. ^{[27] [28] [29] [30]} She reported inside COVID ICUs across the country, filing reports from Alaska ^[31] to Mississippi. ^{[32] [33]}

Much of her career at NBC has been spent as a war correspondent covering conflicts around the globe. ^{[34] [35] [36]} She reported from the frontlines of the Ukraine-Russia War ^{[37] [38] [39]} and the Gaza war. ^{[40] [34] [35]} While reporting along the Gaza border, she and her team came under rocket fire during multiple live reports. ^{[5] [41]}

Barber reported from Haiti following the 2024 Haitian jailbreak and the ouster of then-Acting President Ariel Henry. ^[42]

Personal Life

Barber is in a relationship with actress Shannon Woodward. ^[43]

Accolades

Barber was reporting outside of the United States Capitol as a mob attacked and overtook the Capitol building. ^{[44] [45] [46]} She remained live on NBC News throughout the evening. ^[47] In 2022, she won a News & Documentary Emmy Award for her reporting on the siege of the U.S. Capitol. ^[48]

In 2023, her war reporting earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Emerging Journalist. ^{[49] [50]}

See also

• List of war correspondents
• New Yorkers in journalism

References

1. "Wofford College - 2012 Wofford College graduates". Wofford College. May 23, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
2. Johnson, Ted (April 7, 2020). "Ellison Barber Joins NBC News and MSNBC As Correspondent". Deadline. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
3. "Ellison Barber". Wofford.meritpages.com. May 20, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
4. Inside A Ukrainian Town Six Miles From Frontlines Of War. YouTube. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
5. "Watch: NBC News crew takes cover during rocket fire near Israel border". NBC News. October 13, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
6. "The face of Ukraine's refugee crisis". Today. March 6, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
7. "Ellison Barber - Prince George's County Deputy Bureau Chief". WUSA 9. April 22, 2017. Archived from the original on April 22, 2017.
8. Barber, Ellison. "Md. police didn't tell public teen was missing until she was found murdered". WUSA 9.
9. Barber, Ellison. "World's AIDs Day: Remembering Leonard Matlovich". WUSA 9.
10. Barber, Ellison. "Are D.C.'s weed delivery services legal?". WUSA 9.
11. Barber, Ellison. "Suspect in US Capitol shooting identified". WUSA 9.
12. Barber, Ellison. "Hundreds protest DC police fatal shooting". WUSA 9.
13. "Ellison Barber". Fox News. 18 February 2020.
14. "TV reporter does story on D.C. snow storm, runs into Alex Ovechkin". NBC Sports Washington. January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
15. "How WUSA9's Ellison Barber Lucked Into a Man-On-The-Street Interview with Alex Ovechkin". russianmachineneverbreaks.com. 2016-02-08. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
16. "Ovechkin wasn't fazed by snowstorm: 'We're from Russia'". FOX Sports. January 24, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
17. "Unsuspecting Reporter Comes Across Alex Ovechkin Filling His Gas Tank Ahead Of The Blizzard". BroBible. January 23, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
18. Facky, I. ".@ellisonbarber is now a @FoxNews correspondent!!#redeye cc @johnnydollar01pic.twitter.com/CGhjqXfmpW".
19. Miles, Frank (May 6, 2019). "Venezuelans risk death trying to cross into Colombia escaping violence, hunger, Fox News finds". Fox News. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
20. Barber, Ellison (2019-05-08). "Face of Venezuela crisis: Fox News goes inside camp taking in refugees fleeing Maduro regime". Fox News. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
21. "Shootout rattles nerves near busy Venezuela border bridge". Associated Press. May 3, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
22. "COL-VEN Border - @ellison.barber". Instagram. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
23. Fox News (May 3, 2019). "Shots heard near Venezuela-Colombia border". YouTube. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
24. "Venezuelans face dangerous trek into Colombia". Fox News. May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
25. "Crisis in Venezuela: UN sets up refugee camp in Maicao, Colombia". Fox News. May 7, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
26. Steinberg, Brian (7 April 2020). "Ellison Barber Jumps to NBC News from Fox News Channel". Variety.
27. "Inside a South Carolina hospital, coronavirus surge overwhelms staff". NBC News. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
28. "Missouri struggles to keep Covid under control with hospitalizations up 60% in the past month". CNBC. 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
29. "Alabama's Black residents lag behind white residents in getting Covid vaccine". NBC News. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
30. Inside Covid Unit At A South Carolina hospital, 21 July 2021, retrieved 2021-11-14
31. "Alaska is rationing health care as its COVID-19 numbers soar". Today. October 5, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
32. "Mississippi ICU nurse: 'We need help' as Covid cases surge among unvaccinated patients". MSNBC. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
33. "Inside Mississippi field hospital as state battles increase in Covid cases". NBC News. August 30, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
34. "Horrors of war hitting Israel, Gaza, as fight against Hamas continues". NBC News . Retrieved April 23, 2024.
35. "Gaza hospitals on the brink of collapse as Israel continues to strike". NBC News. October 25, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
36. "Ukrainian children capture the hearts of the world with bravery and resilience". Today. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
37. "This Ukrainian unit is tasked with finding fallen soldiers". NBC News. May 17, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
38. "Inside a Ukrainian town six miles from frontlines of war". NBC News. July 20, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
39. Former UPS Driver Carries Out Civilian Rescues In Ukraine . Retrieved 2024-04-23– via www.youtube.com.
40. "Explosions heard near Israel-Gaza border". NBC News. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
41. "Residents on Gaza border on edge as they come under fire". NBC News. October 11, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
42. "Life inside a Haitian orphanage". NBC News. March 28, 2024. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
43. ""Shannon Woodward" on The Three Questions". teamcoco.com. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
44. NBC News (January 6, 2021). "Rioters Storm Stairs Of Capitol As Congress Debates Electoral College Objections". YouTube. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
45. "Watch live: Congress reconvenes after rioters cleared from Capitol". NBC News. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
46. "Ellison Barber's Instagram". Instagram. January 6, 2021.
47. Singer, Jenny; Kahn, Mattie (January 8, 2021). "3 Reporters on What It Was Like to Do Their Jobs in the Middle of the Capitol Riot". Glamour. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
48. National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. "43rd Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards, Outstanding Live Breaking News Coverage" (PDF).
49. Schneider, Michael (September 28, 2023). "News & Documentary Emmys 2023: Full Winners List". Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
50. Emmy Awards - Outstanding Emerging Journalist: Ellison Barber. YouTube. Retrieved April 23, 2024.

External links

• Ellison Barber at IMDb
• Ellison Barber on Instagram