Andrea Mitchell
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| Andrea Mitchell | |
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| Born | October 30, 1946 |
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| Occupation | Journalist, television commentator, and writer |
| Employers | NBC Universal |
| Spouse | Gil Jackson (divorced 1970s) Alan Greenspan (1997-present) |
Andrea Mitchell (born October 30, 1946 in New York, NY) is a Washington, D.C.-based American television journalist, anchor, reporter, and commentator for NBC News. She is NBC News' Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, and has recently reported on the 2008 Race for the White House for NBC News broadcasts, including NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, Today, and MSNBC. She anchors the 1 p.m. hour of MSNBC Live, and is often a guest on Hardball with Chris Matthews.
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[edit] Background
Mitchell graduated with a B.A. in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania in 1967, where she served as News Director of student radio station WXPN. She joined Philadelphia then-NBC affiliate KYW radio and TV as a reporter that same year.
After several years at KYW, she moved to CBS affiliate WTOP in Washington, D.C., in 1976. 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.
She has been the Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for NBC News since November 1994. Previously, she had served as Chief White House Correspondent (1993-1994) and Chief Congressional Correspondent (1988-1992) for NBC News.
[edit] Personal life
Mitchell married her second husband, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, in 1997. Her husband, first appointed Chairman in August 1987 by President Ronald Reagan, retired in 2006. Previously, she was married to Gil Jackson; that marriage ended in divorce in the mid-1970s.
[edit] Role in the Lewis Libby Trial
A report in the Washington Post that Mitchell was an original recipient of the leak of Valerie Plame's identity led to her being questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the case. While Andrea Mitchell never appeared before the grand jury in the indictment or in the trial of Lewis Libby, she was on the subpoena list as a person of interest. In October 2003, on the Capitol Report, Mitchell made a statement which Libby's defense construed to mean that it was widely known among journalists that Joe Wilson's wife was in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), a statement that she later "recanted".[1][2]
MURRAY: And the second question is: Do we have any idea how widely known it was in Washington that Joe Wilson's wife worked for the CIA?
MITCHELL: 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 her 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.
As a reporter, Mitchell has controversially covered the case without acknowledging her own involvement.
The trial resulted in guilty verdicts for Libby.
She was a frequent guest on Don Imus's radio program and answered a number of his questions about the case and her involvement. She jokingly called the sharp-tongued radio personality her "personal terrorist". [1]
[edit] Sudan incident
During a news conference in Khartoum in July, 2005, Mitchell was forcibly ejected from a room after asking Sudanese President Omar el-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?" At this point two armed security guards grabbed her and forcibly shoved her out of the room.
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."
Prior to the incident, Sudanese officials expressed reservations about allowing American newspaper or television reporters to join the Sudanese press pool. Sean McCormack, the U.S. 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."
Also in 2005, Mitchell wrote a book entitled Talking Back... to Presidents, Dictators, and Assorted Scoundrels, (ISBN 0143038737), chronicling her work as a journalist.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Andrea Mitchell - University of Pennsylvania video
- Official biography at MSNBC
- biography at infoplease almanac
- Andrea Mitchell
