PBS journalist Yamiche Alcindor is joining the NBC News Washington team next year.
Alcindor will cover the Biden administration for NBC News beginning in March, Variety reports. Ken Strickland, NBC News senior vice president and Washington bureau chief, announced in a memo to staff on Tuesday that Alcindor will also cover “the impact of federal policies on communities across the country, and issues at the intersection of race, culture and politics.”
In a statement shared on Twitter, Alcindor said, “I am so excited to join @NBC & @MSNBC as a Washington correspondent. This feels like coming home to family. Covering the WH for @NewsHour has been an honor. I hope our @PBS viewers will keep watching @WashingtonWeek as I continue moderating that show.”
In response to the tweet, MSNBC Legal Analyst Jill Wine-Banks commented, “Congrats to you @Yamiche and to #NBC and #MSNBC for landing Yamiche. She is a talented dynamo to supplement the terrific White House coverage you already do.”
Several of Yamiche’s Twitter followers also expressed excitement for her new gig. One user wrote, “I have never seen you hesitate to ask the hard questions. You also don’t back down when those questions are resisted. You have earned this! Congrats!”
Another said, “Well deserved, you are a true journalist, researching and reporting rather than just giving opinions. And of course you are one of the most polite moderators around, well, PBS on air personalities are always civil.”
A third added, “Congratulations! I will always remember how steadfast, bold and strong you were during the Trump Administration. You were an inspiration. God’s favor to you at NBC!!!”
Alcindor has been part of NBC News since 2013 and was named a political contributor to NBC News and MSNBC in 2016. She will continue to moderate PBS Washington Week after her new duties begin in March 2022 but will no longer serve as the White House correspondent for the flagship news program, PBS NewsHour, according to the report.
Former President Donald Trump often lashed out at Alcindor during press briefings after she called him out for his dangerous statements amid the coronavirus pandemic, theGrio reported.
Alcindor was a frequent target of Trump’s ire. In a bizarre moment at a March 2020 briefing, Trump appeared to invoke a stereotype about Black women telling Alcindor to “Be nice. Don’t be threatening.”
In another interaction, Trump attempted to flatter Alcindor by calling her a “good reporter” — a moment that occurred in response to inquiries as to whether Trump downplayed the seriousness of the COVID-19 virus in its early days.
“And then they tell me it’s only a political talking point, but you feed into it because you’re too good a reporter to let that happen,” he said to Alcindor, “Really, you are a good reporter. You’re too good of a reporter to let that happen.”
Prior to PBS NewsHour, Alcindor worked stints as a national reporter at both The New York Times and USA Today. She has won several awards and is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, which named her the organization’s Journalist of the Year in 2020.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in English, Government and African American studies from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in broadcast news and documentary filmmaking from New York University.
This article contains additional reporting from theGrio’s Biba Adams.
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