WASHINGTON WEEK, the Peabody Award-winning weekly PBS news analysis series produced by WETA, is proud to announce its newest head moderator, Yamiche Alcindor. Alcindor is currently the White House correspondent for PBS NewsHour, a position she will retain. She is also a political contributor for NBC News and MSNBC and has worked as a reporter for USA Today and The New York Times.
“I am incredibly honored and grateful to take the helm of WASHINGTON WEEK,” Alcindor said. “This show has an amazing legacy, and I am thrilled to step into it. I hope to build on it, to expand it and to bring this show forward distinctively into these times of challenge and controversy. In doing so, my guiding light will be serving our audiences and not shying away from the hard conversations about power and politics.”
Alcindor will be the ninth moderator in Washington Week’s 54-year history, following Washington Post political reporter Robert Costa, who held the position from 2017 to 2021, and Gwen Ifill, who moderated the program from 1999 until her death in 2016. Alcindor has served periodically as a guest moderator since Costa’s departure in January 2021.
“Building on the strong tradition of WASHINGTON WEEK, Yamiche will bring new voices, insights and perspectives around the table, helping our audiences understand the policies and politics that drive conversations in our country and across the world. PBS welcomes her into this important role,” said Paula Kerger, PBS president and CEO.
Alcindor has covered the White House for PBS NewsHour since 2018. Prior to that, she covered the campaigns of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders for The New York Times and served as a moderator for the sixth Democratic primary debate in the 2020 presidential election. She is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions for her work, including the 2020 Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence in White House Coverage from the White House Correspondents’ Association and the 2020 Gwen Ifill Award from the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF).
Born in Miami, Florida, to Haitian parents, Alcindor earned a bachelor’s degree in English, government and African American studies from Georgetown University. In 2015, she received a master’s degree in broadcast news and documentary filmmaking from New York University.
Known for its depth, balance and civil discourse, WASHINGTON WEEK has been broadcast live 52 weeks a year to since 1967. The program features a roundtable of journalists from print, broadcast and online news organizations who provide analysis of the week’s major national news stories and their impact on the lives of Americans. With over 50 years on the air, WASHINGTON WEEK is the longest-running primetime news and analysis program on television and was recognized for its journalism excellence with a 2008 Peabody Award, among many other honors. WASHINGTON WEEK airs live on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on PBS stations nationwide.