Peter Alexander joins MS NOW as anchor, Chief National Reporter
Veteran NBC News correspondent Peter Alexander joins MS NOW, the latest example of the Versant-backed outlet trying to aggressively play into hard news, as well as the opinion programming for which it is best known.
Until Saturday, Alexander was chief White House correspondent for NBC News and co-host of Saturday’s “Today” broadcast, an ambitious and logistically challenging series of assignments. At MS NOW, he will anchor the network’s 11 a.m. weekday slot, which was left open in a recent schedule revision, as well as serve as lead reporter and breaking news anchor. He will also contribute to Versant’s larger portfolio, which includes many hours of sports programming on USA and Golf Channel.
“For more than two decades, Peter has built a reputation for his professionalism, fearless reporting and incisive questioning of presidents of both parties. He is one of the most respected and beloved journalists in the Washington press corps, and we are honored to have him join our newsroom,” MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler said in a memo to employees on Monday. She added, “Whether he’s behind the anchor desk or reporting from the field, Peter is also the rare journalist who can easily balance lifestyle, politics and breaking news. As co-anchor of ‘Saturday Today,’ Peter has demonstrated this unique versatility, bringing compassion and humanity to the weekends and building a bond with viewers while leading coverage from the White House.”
Alexander had been looking for a prominent anchor role in recent months, knowing that many future opportunities at NBC News, such as anchor roles on “Today,” “NBC Nightly News” and “Meet the Press,” were unlikely to become available anytime soon.
Alexander is the latest NBC News journalist to join MS NOW. Others include Jacob Soboroff, Vaughn Hillyard, Brandy Zadrozny, David Rohde, Antonia Hylton and Ken Dilanian. When Versant split from NBCUniversal, the separation ended MS NOW (then MSNBC) and CNBC revenues that could be invested in NBC News’ newsgathering operations, and NBC News has laid off a number of staffers in recent months.
Overall, Alexander has spent 15 years in the White House and has worked “Today” weekends since 2018. Alexander has been called out for asking reasonable questions of President Trump that are causing backlash for one reason or another. For example, during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Alexander asked Trump, then in his first term in the Oval Office, “What do you say to the Americans who are looking at you right now and are afraid?” Trump lashed out. “I say you’re a terrible reporter!” he replied.
Alexander joined NBC News in 2004 and reported on a range of stories around the world and in the US. He was assigned to cover the 2012 Republican presidential race before being named White House correspondent that year. After a stint as a national correspondent from 2014 to 2016, Alexander returned to the White House in 2017 and was named co-chief White House correspondent alongside Kristen Welker. He fulfilled those duties when he was named co-anchor of Saturday’s “Today” and became the network’s only chief White House correspondent when Welker was elevated to moderator of “Meet the Press.”
While MS NOW recently assigned new two-hour shifts to Stephanie Ruhle and Alicia Menendez, the network has a long history of offering an hour-long program tied to events in Washington, D.C. Andrea Mitchell hosted such a show when the network was called MSNBC for nearly two decades.
