Liberals love to honor other liberals. The International Center for Journalists announced on Friday it will honor Andrea Mitchell, chief foreign affairs correspondent and chief Washington correspondent for NBC News, with the "ICFJ Founders Award for Excellence in Journalism." She will receive the award at the "ICFJ Tribute to Journalists 2022" event on November 10 in Washington, hosted by CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer.
You can tell this is cozy since the IFCJ board of directors includes Carrie Budoff Brown, senior vice president at Meet the Press and NBC and MSNBC "national affairs analyst" John Heilemann.
The center laid the praise on thick:
Mitchell is host of MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports, and she is the network’s leading voice on U.S. foreign policy and international diplomacy – including on the current war in Ukraine....
Over a career spanning 55 years [she's 75], Mitchell has become known for her tenacity and her expert analysis, whether breaking news during presidential campaigns or illuminating complex issues through exclusive interviews with U.S. and foreign leaders.
“Andrea Mitchell is one of the most important journalists of our lifetimes, and we are proud to honor her with the ICFJ Founders Award,” said ICFJ President Sharon Moshavi. “From keeping us informed about the vital diplomacy happening right now to resolve the Ukraine war to breaking news about political developments for decades, Andrea Mitchell does it all. And she does it better than just about anyone.”
Mitchell also closely covered the complex U.S.-Cuban relationship for decades and led NBC News’ coverage of the historic thaw with the island country beginning in 2014, including a series of interviews with Cuban President Fidel Castro.
Mitchell is one of the leading political reporters of a generation, having covered eight presidents, from Jimmy Carter to Joe Biden. In 2019, she co-moderated the Democratic presidential debate as part of the first all-female team of presidential debate moderators. During the 2016 election cycle, she led coverage of Hillary Clinton’s second presidential campaign, becoming known as the “dean of the Clinton press corps.”
She was not "known for her tenacity" in covering Hillary Clinton. She was known as a fawning supporter, touting her "stellar term" as Secretary of State and insisting on a "statute of limitations" on mentioning Clinton scandals from the 1990s.
She also wasn't tenacious with Castro. When the dictator died in 2016, Mitchell unfurled the usual nonsense about how Castro "gave his people better health care and education." She said that Castro "will be revered" for giving "education and social services and medical care to all of his people."
