A Day in the Life of NBC's Andrea Mitchell

Home away from home: Mitchell on set

	With bureau chief Antoine Sanfuentes...
	... with editor Ed Eaves...
	... and on set with New York Times reporter Mark Mazzetti and former NSC member Michael Singh

There is rarely a dull moment in the life of Andrea Mitchell. As NBC’s veteran chief foreign affairs correspondent, she reports on foreign policy, intelligence, and national security issues for all of NBC News and MSNBC. She is also the host of Andrea Mitchell Reports, an hour of political news and interviews. A native of New York and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Mitchell was an achiever from the get-go, eventually joining NBC in 1978. She has taken on a number of high-profile assignments since, including that of chief White House correspondent and chief Congressional correspondent.

Not long after Capitol File spent the day with Mitchell at NBC’s studios in Washington, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. A few days later, on her show, she addressed the issue with a positive outlook. “Lucky for me, I am one of the fortunate ones,” she said. “We discovered it in the earliest stage, it has not spread, and I’m already back at work with a terrific prognosis.”

5:30 AM
“My job requires me to consume as much news as possible. I check my BlackBerry as soon as I wake up and read through all the major newspapers and political outlets so that I stay on top of the news of the day.”

10:30 AM
“I have a conference call every morning from my office between members of our team here in Washington and our executive producer in New York, Jennifer Suozzo, deciding on the most important stories of the day. Sometimes my day starts before the sun rises with an appearance on the Today show or Morning Joe.”

11:25 AM
“I consult with my bureau chief, Antoine Sanfuentes, for advice on stories. He is a former longtime White House producer who has also traveled with me to war zones, political conventions, and everywhere in between.”

12:45 PM
“I get ready on the set; we air at 1 pm. In our business, we are always updating stories and scripts until the last minute, so Jenn is in my ear throughout the show with breaking news or changes to the rundown. She is constantly juggling my last-minute changes and updates from around the world as we go live, often having to adjust the rundown for developments on the Hill or a presidential speech.”

1 PM
“Throughout the duration of the show, my stage manager is my wingman, giving me cues. You would think after a while it would become routine, but we are often changing scripts during commercial breaks or adlibbing in the event of breaking news.”

3:45 PM
“Late in the afternoon, we are in an edit room, where all the magic happens. Editor Ed Eaves puts the final touches on my report for NBC Nightly News.”

6:30 PM
“I am live with Brian Williams for NBC Nightly News. It is a privilege to report for a program that is so consistently smart, innovative, and thoughtprovoking.”