Editing Andrea Mitchell

{{Short description|American journalist and news anchor (born 1946)}}
{{for|the Australian politician|Andrea Mitchell (politician)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Andrea Mitchell
| image              = Andrea Mitchell interviewing guest at Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) annual conference and briefing in Washington D.C. on November 15, 2023 (cropped).jpg
| caption            = Mitchell in 2023
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1946|10|30}}
| birth_place        = [[New Rochelle, New York]], U.S.
| alma_mater         = [[University of Pennsylvania]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| occupation         = News anchor
| years_active       = 1967–present
| title              = [[NBC News]] Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent<br />[[NBC News]] Chief Washington Correspondent<br />Host, ''[[Andrea Mitchell Reports]]''
| spouse             = {{unbulleted list | Gil Jackson ({{abbr|annulled|divorced}}&nbsp;1966) | {{marriage|[[Alan Greenspan]]|1997}}}}
| children           = 
| relatives          = 
| family             = 
| alias              = 
| credits            = [[NBC News]] Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent,<br />''[[NBC Nightly News]]'',<br />''[[Today (U.S. TV program)|Today]]'',<br />''[[Andrea Mitchell Reports]]''
| URL                = 
}}
'''Andrea Mitchell'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1265/records/571705675|title=Andrea Louise Mitchell|website=[[Ancestry.com|Ancestry]]|access-date=March 22, 2025}}</ref>  (born October 30, 1946)<ref>October 30, 2013. [http://newrochelle.dailyvoice.com/neighbors/happy-birthday-new-rochelle-s-andrea-mitchell Happy Birthday To New Rochelle's Andrea Mitchell]. ''The Daily Voice.'' Retrieved: 15 March 2014.</ref> is an American television journalist, anchor and commentator for [[NBC News]], based in [[Washington, D.C.]]

She is NBC News' chief foreign affairs & chief Washington correspondent, reporting on the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 presidential election]] campaign for [[NBC News]] broadcasts, including ''[[NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt]],'' ''[[Today (U.S. TV program)|Today]]'', and [[MSNBC]]. She anchored ''[[Andrea Mitchell Reports]],'' which aired from noon to 1 p.m. ET weekdays on MSNBC. On October 29, 2024, in closing remarks on her show, Mitchell announced she would 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/andrea-mitchell-receive-lifetime-achievement-award-news-emmys-n1029921|title=Andrea Mitchell to receive lifetime achievement award at news Emmys|website=[[NBC News]]|access-date=April 6, 2020|date=July 15, 2019|first=Daniel|last=Arkin}}</ref>

==Early life, education, and early career==
Mitchell was raised in a [[Jewish]] family<ref name="JWI interview">Cantor, Danielle (undated).  [http://www.jwi.org/page.aspx?pid=680 "Andrea Mitchell"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203001021/http://www.jwi.org/page.aspx?pid=680 |date=December 3, 2013 }}.  ''Jewish Woman''.  Retrieved August 2, 2013.</ref> from [[New Rochelle, New York]], the daughter of Sydney Mitchell, a businessman, and his wife, Cecile Mitchell. Her family's original surname was Metchik. The family is of Russian-Jewish descent.

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.<ref name="nyt97">[https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/06/style/alan-greenspan-andrea-mitchell.html "Alan Greenspan, Andrea Mitchell"].  ''[[The New York Times]]''. April 6, 1997.</ref> Her brother [[Arthur Mitchell (Yukon politician)|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.<ref name="cbcvotes">[http://www.cbc.ca/yukonvotes2006/parties/mitchell.html Yukon Liberal Party Leader: Arthur Mitchell], cbc.ca. Retrieved 11 February 2012</ref>

Mitchell is a graduate of [[New Rochelle High School]].<ref>{{cite web|title=List of Distinguished Alumni |url=http://nrhs.nred.org/site_res_view_folder.aspx?id=f48013ee-45f7-4e7b-a618-7cdecf8ecaac |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220062113/http://nrhs.nred.org/site_res_view_folder.aspx?id=f48013ee-45f7-4e7b-a618-7cdecf8ecaac |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 20, 2008 |work=New Rochelle High School }} see list of Distinguished Alumni</ref> 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 (AM)|KYW]] radio. She rose to prominence as the station's City Hall correspondent during Mayor [[Frank Rizzo]]'s administration and also reported for sister station [[KYW-TV]].

She moved in 1976 to [[CBS]] affiliate WTOP (now [[WUSA (TV)|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's 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.<ref name="NBC-bio">{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna3688874|title=Andrea Mitchell - NBCNightlyNews - About Us |work=[[NBC News]] |date=December 12, 2003 |access-date= February 5, 2013}}</ref>

==NBC News and MSNBC==
[[File:Andrea Mitchell 2008 DNC day 2 (2894755038).png|thumb|Mitchell reporting from the floor of the [[2008 Democratic National Convention]].]]
[[File:Secretary Kerry is Interviewed by Andrea Mitchell in Cuba (20555381186).jpg|thumb|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/bookfest/author/andrea_mitchell|title=Andrea Mitchell|last=National Book Festival|publisher=[[Library of Congress]]|access-date= February 5, 2013}}</ref> Previously, she served as chief White House correspondent (1993–1994) and chief Congressional correspondent (1988–1992).<ref name="NBC-bio"/>

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.

From 2008 to 2025, Mitchell hosted ''[[Andrea Mitchell Reports]]'' on [[MSNBC]].  She stepped down from that position on February 7, 2025, but will remain NBC News's chief Washington correspondent and chief foreign affairs correspondent. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://people.com/andrea-mitchell-leaves-msnbc-anchor-chair-after-17-years-8786356|title=Andrea Mitchell Steps Away from MSNBC Anchor Chair After 17 Years amid Flurry of Political Journalism Shake-Ups|last=Alvord|first=Kyler|publisher=people.com|access-date= February 8, 2025}}</ref>

==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."<ref>[http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/files/030207_walton_evidentiary_opinion.pdf] ([[PDF]]).</ref>

===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 ([[Janjaweed]])?" "Why should Americans believe your promises?"<ref name="ac1">{{cite news|url=http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2005/07/23/tel_459414.shtml#.VvDR6uIrLIU|title=TV reporter says she's angry after Sudan incident|date=23 July 2005|publisher=Augusta Chronicle|access-date=22 March 2016}}</ref> 

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."<ref name="ac1"/>

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."<ref>{{cite news|title=Daily Nightly: Brian previews Friday's newscast|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna8616820|access-date= December 28, 2012| work = [[NBC News]] |date=July 21, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Sudanese scuffle symbolic of disregard for own|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna8655411|access-date= December 28, 2012|work=[[NBC News]] |date = July 21, 2005}}</ref>

===Offensive remarks ===
During an appearance on MSNBC on June 5, 2008, Mitchell referred to the voters of the southwest Virginia region as [[redneck]]s.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/05/msnbcs-andrea-mitchell-re_n_105462.html |title=MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Refers To Rural Virginians As 'Rednecks'| last=Linkins| first=Jason|date=June 13, 2008| work =[[The Huffington Post]]|access-date= March 10, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/michaelcalderone/0608/NBCs_Mitchell_to_address_redneck_comment.html|title=NBC's Mitchell to address "redneck" comment|last=Calderone| first=Michael|date=June 9, 2008|publisher=[[Politico]]|access-date=March 10, 2013}}</ref>  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."<ref>''MSNBC Live'', MSNBC.  June 9, 2008.</ref>

Having been led to believe that a clip showed that presidential candidate [[Mitt Romney]] was impressed by a touchscreen at a [[Wawa Inc.|Wawa]] convenience store, Mitchell and contributor [[Chris Cillizza]] laughed when it was shown on ''Andrea Mitchell Reports'',<ref>Byers, Dylan (June 18, 2012). [http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/06/msnbc-misportrays-romneys-wawa-remarks-126545.html "MSNBC mischaracterizes Romney remarks"].  ''[[Politico]]''.</ref> alluding to a widely held myth that [[George H. W. Bush]] was [[Supermarket scanner moment|unfamiliar with a supermarket scanner]] in an incident during his [[1992 United States presidential election|1992 campaign]].<ref>[https://swampland.time.com/2012/06/20/why-there-arent-supermarket-scanner-moments-anymore/ "Why There Aren't Supermarket Scanner Moments Anymore"].  June 20, 2012.  ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. Retrieved July 13, 2013.</ref> She suggested this might be Romney's "supermarket scanner moment."<ref name="washpo-wawa">{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/post/msnbc-faces-pressure-on-romneys-wawa-moment/2012/06/19/gJQApHH0nV_blog.html|title=MSNBC faces pressure on Romney's Wawa moment|last=Wemple|first=Erik|date=June 19, 2012|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date= March 10, 2013}}</ref> 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.<ref name="washpo-wawa"/><ref name="huffpo-wawa">{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/19/msnbc-romney-edit-andrea-mitchell_n_1609298.html|title=MSNBC Romney Edit Draws Fire; Andrea Mitchell Briefly Addresses Controversy (Video)|last=Mirkinson|first=Jack|date=June 19, 2012| work =[[The Huffington Post]]|access-date= March 10, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/06/wawa-vs-the-post-office-bus-capade-update/258642/|title=Wawa vs. the Post Office: Bus-Capade Update|last=Fallows|first=James|date=June 18, 2012|work=[[The Atlantic]]|access-date=March 10, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2012/06/18/a-33-page-form-to-change-your-address/|title=A 33 Page Form To Change Your Address?|last=Sullivan|first=Andrew|date=June 18, 2012|publisher=The Dish|access-date=March 10, 2013}}</ref>

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."<ref name="huffpo-wawa"/>

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]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Markusz |first=Katarzyna |date=March 1, 2019 |title=Poland Institute Sues NBC's Mitchell for Conflating Poland with Nazis |url=https://www.jpost.com/International/Poland-institute-sues-NBCs-Mitchell-for-conflating-Poland-with-Nazis-582133 |newspaper=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |agency=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]] |access-date=March 2, 2019}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:Alan Greenspan and Andrea Mitchell.jpg|thumb|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.<ref name="nyt97"/> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna44427588|title=NBC's Andrea Mitchell reveals she has breast cancer|access-date=September 7, 2011|date=September 7, 2011}}</ref>

In 2017, Mitchell and Greenspan endowed the University of Pennsylvania with the "Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy".<ref>https://www.thedp.com/article/2017/08/nbc-anchor-and-penn-graduate-andrea-mitchell-just-endowed-penn-with-a-center-to-study-democracy</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Biography|Journalism|Television}}
* [[List of University of Pennsylvania people]]

==References==
{{clear}}
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090406080302/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29974370 Andrea Mitchell Reports] at [[MSNBC]]
*{{C-SPAN|292}}
*{{Charlie Rose guest|5}} 
*{{IMDb name|1193239}}
*[http://www.upenn.edu/assets/images/videos/mitchell.mpg Andrea Mitchell – University of Pennsylvania video]
*[https://www.cfr.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/FY17%20Membership%20Roster.pdf Membership] at the [[Council on Foreign Relations]]

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