Veteran NBC News correspondent Peter Alexander has joined MS NOW. MS NOW is the latest example of the Versant-backed station trying to be more aggressive with its tough news and best-known opinion shows.
Until Saturday, Alexander was NBC News’ White House correspondent and co-anchor of Saturday’s “Today” broadcast. This was an ambitious and logistically difficult series of missions. At MS NOW, he will anchor the network’s 11 a.m. weekday slot, which was vacated by a recent schedule overhaul, and will also serve as national chief reporter and breaking news anchor. He will also contribute to Versant’s larger portfolio, which includes long-running sports programming on USA and Golf Channel.
“For more than 20 years, Peter has built a reputation for his professionalism, bold 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 welcome him to our newsroom,” MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler said in a memo to staff Monday. “Whether behind the anchor desk or reporting from the field, Peter is also a rare journalist who can traverse lifestyle, politics and breaking news with ease. As co-anchor of Saturday Today, Peter demonstrated this unique versatility. He led the network’s White House coverage, bringing compassion and humanity to the weekend and forging connections with viewers.”
Alexander had been searching for high-profile anchoring roles in recent months, knowing that many future avenues, including anchoring roles at NBC News such as “Today,” “NBC Nightly News” and “Meet the Press,” were not likely to be available anytime soon.
Alexander is the newest NBC News journalist to join MS NOW. Others include Jacob Soboroff, Vaughn Hillyard, Brandi Zadrozny, David Rohde, Antonia Hilton, and Ken Dilanian. When Versant separated from NBCUniversal, it cut off revenue from MS NOW (then MSNBC) and CNBC that could have invested in NBC News coverage, and NBC News has laid off some staffers in recent months.
All in all, Alexander has been on the White House beat for 15 years since 2018, working weekends on “Today.” Alexander gained attention for asking reasonable questions of President Trump, which for some reason caused a backlash. For example, during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Alexander asked Trump, then in his first term in the Oval Office, “What would you say to the scared Americans who are watching you right now?” Trump lashed out. “I think you’re a terrible reporter!” he retorted.
Alexander joined NBC News in 2004 and covered a variety of stories around the world and in the United States. He was assigned to cover the Republican presidential election in 2012 and was appointed White House correspondent the same year. He served as national correspondent from 2014 to 2016, after which he was named co-chief White House correspondent with Kristen Welker. He remained the station’s only White House correspondent when he was named co-anchor of “Today” on Saturdays, and when Welker was promoted to host of “Meet the Press.”
Although MS NOW recently gave new two-hour daytime shifts to Stephanie Rhule and Alicia Menendez, the network has a long history of offering one-hour programs related to events in Washington, D.C., with Andrea Mitchell hosting such programs for nearly two decades when the network was called MSNBC.
