PERSON: Lisa Desjardins

PBS NewsHour

Correspondent

Lisa Desjardins (born January 29, 1972) is an American political journalist. She is a correspondent at PBS NewsHour and has previously worked for the Associated Press and CNN Radio. As of 2018, she has reported on five U.S. presidential elections.

Desjardins’ first job in journalism was at the local television station WBTW in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, between 1998 and 1999, when she was fired. Next, she worked as a freelance reporter for The Sun News, a Myrtle Beach newspaper, and, at the same time, as a freelance reporter for the news agency Reuters. After a few months, in October 1999, she left The Sun News and joined the Columbia NBC-affiliate WIS as a political reporter, while she remained a reporter for Reuters. At WIS, she covered the South Carolina Legislature, the debate on the display of the Confederate Flag at the South Carolina State House, and the 2000 Republican presidential primaries. In 2003, Desjardins became a reporter in the Washington, D.C., bureau of the Associated Press, where she reported on, among other things, the 2004 presidential election; Medicaid; hurricanes; and the Iraq War.

Next, Desjardins moved to CNN, where she worked for nine years from 2005 to 2014. She was CNN Radio’s Congressional correspondent, but also occasionally reported for CNN.com and CNN’s news channel. Desjardins reported on the 2010 Haiti earthquake for CNN Radio, whose coverage was awarded a Sigma Delta Chi Award. When CNN Radio was shut down in June 2013, she was transferred to CNN’s Washington Bureau, where she worked as a Capitol Hill reporter. She was part of the team that covered the 2008 presidential primaries. CNN received a Peabody Award in 2008 for the team’s coverage. During her time at CNN, she and Rick Emerson wrote a book on personal finance, entitled Zombie Economics: A Guide to Personal Finance. It was published in May 2011 by Avery Publishing. Desjardins chaired the June 2014 annual dinner of the Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association. She left CNN after being laid off in August 2014.

Desjardins joined PBS NewsHour in October 2014 as a political reporter, and in July 2015 was elevated to Political Director, appearing on camera from the studio and from the U.S. Capitol. She also writes articles for the NewsHour website. Her current title on the NewsHour is Capitol Hill Correspondent.

Desjardins was inside the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, covering the counting and certification of the 2020 Presidential Electoral College votes when the building was attacked by violent mobs. Despite being assaulted by a rioter, she continued reporting live throughout the attack and was evacuated alongside members of Congress and staffers to the Longworth House Office Building. Later that evening, Desjardins returned to cover the delayed certification process and remained in the Capitol until 3:45 am the following morning. In 2022, PBS NewsHour received a Peabody Award for its January 6 reporting, with Desjardins the only reporter broadcasting live from the Capitol outside of the area under lockdown.

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