Yamiche Alcindor Named Host of "Washington Week" on PBS

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Yamiche Alcindor Named Host of

She can't be stopped!

PBS White House reporter and provider of endless Black girl magic, Yamiche Alcindor, has been named moderator of the network's show "Washington Week," according to an announcement by the PBS affiliate station WETA. Alcindor will take the helm beginning Friday, replacing former house and managing editor of "Washington Week," Bob Costa, who left his post in January.

The recipient of the 2020 "Journalist of the Year" award from the National Association of Black Journalists, Alcindor has distinguished herself as a journalist since she stepped onto the scene almost a decade ago. In the past, she's worked for USA Today, The New York Times, and currently contributes for "NewsHour," NBC News, and MSNBC, where she will continue reporting following her newest appointment. 

The Haitian-American journalist is following in the footsteps of her mentor, the late Gwen Ifill, who was a longtime moderator of the show. In an interview with The New York Times, Alcindor said it was an honor to be on the show Ifill helped build.

"I know how much 'Washington Week' meant to Gwen and how much she put her stamp on the legacy of the show," she said. "I also feel this incredible responsibility to think deeply about taking this on and making it a show that people want to watch, that people will feel is living up to its great legacy."

“Yamiche is the right person at the right time for this role,” Sharon Percy Rockefeller, president and CEO of WETA said in a statment that Alcindor is the "right person at the right time" to fill the role.

“One of the most respected voices in journalism today, Yamiche is known for her command of public-policy issues and her intrepid work as a member of the White House press corps. With composure and tenacity, she has covered some of the most momentous political stories of our time, continually demonstrating the highest standards of journalism.” 

As a longtime watcher of the show, she added that it's vital for her to continue the show's respectful tone since its debut in 1967 while widening the show's scope.

"There can be this sense when you are working and living in Washington, that everything is about what's going on in D.C.," Alcindor said. "So much of what has guided my journalism is, how are vulnerable populations being impacted by these policies? That will be my guiding light."

As she steps into her next role, she plans to use the advice her mentor, Ifill, gave her the first time she was booked as a guest on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"She basically told me, 'You are a reporter who knows just as much as the people around that table. You earned this, and you are ready for this,'" Alcindor recalled.

And the world knows it since the announcement support has been streaming in on social media.

 

We can't wait to tune in!

Photo Credit: Washington Week

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