Lisa Desjardins, the Capitol Hill correspondent for PBS NewsHour, was inside the Capitol on January 6, 2021 when insurrectionists entered the building. She was able to report live and share video throughout the riot. Desjardins has won several prestigious awards for her coverage, including a Peabody Award, the National Press Foundation's Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress, and the Radio & Television Correspondents’ Association’s Joan S. Barone Award for excellence in journalism. 

Desjardins’ coverage exemplifies the PBS core editorial principles of accuracy and accountability.  The principle of accountability necessitates adhering to the highest professional standards of conduct to “diligently pursue and report the truth.”  The standards acknowledge that “the mere presence of cameras can change or influence events,” and Desjardins did a remarkable job ensuring that she did not become part of the story.  Accuracy requires not only fidelity to facts and updating information as a story develops, but also placing facts in sufficient context.  As Desjardins notes below, context is the “rope from an anchor of truth up to the surface where people can take hold and connect to fact.”

In this Q&A with PBS Standards & Practices, Desjardins explains how she was able to remain calm and deliver accurate, fair coverage. She also discusses what it has been like giving viewers a glimpse into her home as the pandemic forced people to work remotely. This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

1. You have received several awards for your reporting on the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol.  As the National Press Foundation noted, you remained calm even as rioters entered the Capitol. How did you avoid not making yourself part of the story?

Desjardins: The day, like any news story, was a series of tricky choices. But many of those choices were made easier by the events themselves. When I saw the doors of the Capitol bending under the pressure of the rioters, the task was very simple: Describe what was happening.  I didn't have time to think about what I might be experiencing or feeling myself, nor did that seem important, if that makes sense.  If anything, my mind was racing about logistics. At that point I had just one cell phone and needed to use it to talk with Judy on air.  But I was thinking things like, “how can I get video of this if I’m using my only phone already?”  (I ended up asking, somewhat directing, one of three print reporters nearby to get it.)   

When I was with the rioters, I knew that not many reporters had been able to make it out to the hallways. At that point I was the only non-rioter I saw in any direction.  And because of this, I was driven by the thought that the country was not able to see what was happening inside. I knew that many of them were seeing exterior shots of the Capitol only.  I really felt the country needed to know what was happening inside in as clear, simple, and calm terms as possible. 

At the same time, I tried to blend in.  This had mixed success because I was wearing masks at that point, unlike the vast majority of the crowd.  But before I went out to explore the first signs of trouble, I changed my outfit from a sort of more formal business suit to more casual clothes I had brought, navy blue leggings and a turtle neck.  I rarely engaged with rioters unless I was interviewing them, though many spoke with or yelled at me.  It was a situation nearing chaos, and I was able to figure out that if I ignored most of the most troublesome rioters, they would move on with the rest of the running crowd.

2. You have spoken about the long-lasting toll of that experience. How did you manage the impact of that experience while ensuring your reporting about the events of that day remained fair?

At one point, I accidentally ended up behind lockdown, a safe area with locked doors between us and the crowd, after I went to my office to get batteries and charged equipment. But I felt strongly I needed to return to the area of riot to report.  Before I did that, I took a solid minute to pause and quickly check my own mind.  

I was thinking about all of our team, at PBS NewsHour, who would be watching and worried, and about my family.  I didn’t want to do something that would cause them pain later because of harm to myself.  Above all, I wanted to make sure that I could make sober and clear decisions.  I essentially asked myself, can I think calmly now? Can I be focused and not let either panic or excitement overtake judgement here? 

To this day, I am still not certain exactly what triggered that kind of focus, but I believe those important moments helped me get in a stronger state of mind, one that was focused more on the job and – at least in my conscious mind – not about experiencing it myself.

3. One of PBS’s core values is accuracy, which includes putting information into sufficient context. You often break down stories for viewers by using numbers and data. For example, during Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing you kept track of the number of times she was asked questions. Can you elaborate on why providing context is so important?

This is a wonderful question and it goes to the heart of what I think PBS NewsHour does in such an important way today.  Recent politics have been driven by the intangible, perhaps more than ever in modern history.  By strong feelings and sentiments.  But yet, often voters and politicians can be guided by vague, untethered, and even false ideas.  I think of context as a sort of rope from an anchor of truth up to the surface where people can take hold and connect to fact.  

The Jackson hearings are a wonderful example.  For some watching, it may have felt as though one set of questions or answers was dominating the hearing. But only by tracking it, question by question, did we know that Republicans were asking about her sentencing decisions, especially in cases involving child sexual abuse, many times more often than they were asking about philosophy or other topics.  

4. Does social media help you engage with the audience? Do you find that holds you accountable in some way? (For example, you recently received some critical feedback about asking President Biden about his comment that Putin “cannot remain in power.”)

I am fortunate in that I genuinely like to engage with most critics.  Social media is full of frustration, anger, and rude words. But I find that if you are polite and genuinely attempt a conversation, 90 percent of the time, the person throwing verbal punches will quickly apologize and say how surprised they are that you are responding at all.  It is not always true, but I believe that most often you can learn something from the anger floating around social media.  And I do.  It helps me get at both the underlying sentiments that may be rising and sort out how significant they are.

5. The pandemic has allowed people into our homes via computer cameras unlike ever before. How do you feel about viewers now knowing your cat, Rocky, and commenting on your decorations?

This may sound goofy or a bit over-the-top, but I do think of PBS viewers as family.  And I know many of them feel that way about our show, too.   I love the idea of sitting on a stool with my couch and cat behind me, looking out of the windows of my house and reporting into other peoples’ living rooms too.   Now, I’ve long been fearful that my six-year-old will come booming into a live shot, but thankfully my husband has done an incredible job finding other things for him to do while I’m on TV.  The large painting behind me is one I bought to remind myself to just keep breathing and take happy leaps even as all of Washington may have its hair on fire. It’s touching and wonderful to me that viewers relate to that painting and some enjoy it nearly as much as I do.  

Now as for Rocky, it remains amazing and surreal to us that he has become such a sensation.  Regularly, viewers, including members of Congress, ask me how he is doing.  I can answer how he’s doing: He’s living his best life, regularly rewarded for his calm during my live shots with his favorite treats.  I’m glad that recently viewers have seen his other side as well:  He’s LOUD when he wants something.  

Contact PBS Standards & Practices at standards@pbs.org