Lecture: Andrea Mitchell

By Vidya Singh

Andrea Mitchell
Andrea Mitchell Photo: Timothy Greenfield Sanders.

Andrea Mitchell began her October 26 talk in the atrium of NYU’s Department of Journalism, by describing the scene at the NBC offices the night before, when Mitchell and her colleagues caught a wind of a rumor that there was, or was about to be, an indictment in the CIA leak case known as Plamegate. “Anchormen were flying through the air,” recalled Mitchell. However, the NBC chief foreign correspondent calmly worked her way from her most accessible contacts, such as lawyers involved in the case, to the more difficult-to-reach ones, such as Bush cabinet members, in order to verify or debunk the rumor. “It took three hours to find out that nothing was happening, and by then I had missed the start of the World Series,” said Mitchell.

In September 2005, Mitchell published her first book, Talking Back…To Presidents, Dictators, and Assorted Scoundrels, in which she recounts her experiences covering Congress, presidential elections, and foreign policy. In addition to her role as NBC’s chief foreign correspondent, Mitchell has also appeared as panelist and a host on the TV new talk show, Meet the Press, and she was a regular political analyst on the Today show.

Her rise to the top began after she graduated with a degree in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania, in 1967, when she landed a job as a reporter for KYW Radio in Philadelphia. In 1976, Mitchell became a journalist for CBS affiliate, WDVM-TV in Washington, D.C., and then in 1978 Mitchell became a network correspondent at NBC news.

Mitchell’s career path has had its share of potholes. She confided to her audience of journalism students and faculty that the worst moment in her career came during her coverage of John Hinckley’s attempted assassination of President Reagan in 1981. NBC sent Mitchell and a camera crew to cover the transport of Hinckley, but unfortunately, Mitchell could not get close enough to see anything. When NBC anchor Tom Brokaw unexpectedly turned the live coverage over to Mitchell, she flubbed it. “It was the single worst appearance on the Today show,” said Mitchell.

Afterwards, Mitchell was devastated to learn that she has been demoted to the network’s radio division. Rallying, she resolved to make herself indispensable, often working seven days a week. Her efforts paid off, earning Mitchell a series of promotions that culminated in her being named chief White House correspondent for NBC radio. In 1988, Mitchell was transferred to the Capitol Hill beat, which she said was a virtual journalist’s heaven, because there were “535 people up there, all desperate to tell their stories.”

In 1992, after touring with Bill Clinton’s campaign, Mitchell became the chief White House correspondent for NBC’s TV news division, a career move that necessitated giving up her position as political analyst for the Today show. Mitchell sounded almost nostalgic as she recalled the days when network executives though it inappropriate for journalists to report the news and analyze it as well. Now, she noted, journalists are reporting stories as well as appearing on news talk shows, and writing opinion-driven commentary on blogs- activities that, arguably, are in conflict with their status as unbiased reporters.

Mitchell’s greatest concern is that reporters who “blur the distinctions between straight reporting and cable talk” help sew confusion in the public mind about the journalist’s role as a relayer of unbiased fact. She worries about what she believes to be the media’s loss of credibility in the minds of too many news consumers. In her NYU talk, Mitchell attributed this phenomena to the 24/7 news cycle. In the rush to be the first ones to report the story, Mitchell admitted, “we go with stories that are not fully formed” and sometimes “rush to judgment.” Another reason for the news media’s loss of respect, suggested Mitchell, is its refusal, in the recent years, to question the administration’s version of the facts.

"Accuracy is still the first credo of journalism." —Andrea Mitchell

“After 9/11…the media became too self-censoring and too hesitant to challenge Bush,” said Mitchell. As an example, she cited the uncritical reporting, by many media outlets, of the administration’s claim that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. In Mitchell’s opinion, the WMD story is “as the heart of the story of the CIA leak, and the attempt to undermine [retired ambassador, Joseph] Wilson.”

Mitchell’s prescription for the media’s maladies is a return to the basics of good reporting. “We’re all in this incredible mixing bowl,” said Mitchell, of today’s information-overloaded journalists, “and what we have to do is find out…where the facts are.” Instead of jumping to conclusions, journalists should admit when they don’t know what the facts are, said Mitchell, rather than running with half-baked stories. She advised her audience of journalism students to do a “gut check” before going with a story. “Ask yourself, how would I feel if this were written about me or my family?,” she said.

As well, she noted, the public would be better served by more complete background information, especially when a story involves complicated issues, as in the case of Plamegate. With more context, said Mitchell, the public would be equipped to form critical opinions about current events.

In many ways, Mitchell’s talk at NYU was a crash course in contemporary journalism, outlining the challenges that journalists are faced with and offering suggestions for restoring the credibility of the news media. Mitchell reminded her audience that although journalists find themselves in an ever-changing world, faced with increasingly difficult obstacles, that’s no excuse for simply echoing the official line or running with unverified rumor. “Accuracy is still the first credo of journalism,” she said.

Vidya Singh is a junior at NYU, majoring in politics and journalism.

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