Lisa Desjardins ( née Goddard; born January 29, 1972) is an American political journalist. She is a correspondent at ''

PBS NewsHour ''PBS NewsHour'' is an American evening television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS member stations. It airs seven nights a week, and is known for its in-depth coverage of issues and current events. Anchored by Judy Woodruff, the pro ...

'' and has previously worked for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

and

CNN Radio CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by t ...

. As of 2018, she has reported on five U.S. presidential elections.

Early life and education

Desjardins was born in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

but grew up in

Annandale, Virginia Annandale () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia. Her father was a naval officer who retired at the rank of captain and later worked as a college instructor. She has three siblings and seven half-siblings on her father's side. She became interested in politics during her childhood. Desjardins studied at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William I ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...

, from 1990 to 1994, earning a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in economics. Subsequently, she spent two years doing

Russian studies Russian studies is an interdisciplinary field crossing politics, history, culture, economics, and languages of Russia and its neighborhood, often grouped under Soviet and Communist studies. Russian studies should not be confused with the study of ...

Herzen University Herzen University, or formally the Russian State Pedagogical University in the name of A. I. Herzen (russian: Российский государственный педагогический университет имени А. И. Герце� ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, where she learned to speak

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

. Starting in 1996, she attended Northwestern University's

Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is a constituent school of Northwestern University that offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. It frequently ranks as the top school of journalism in the Unite ...

. She received a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

degree in journalism from that university the following year.

Career

Desjardins' first job in journalism was at the local television station

WBTW WBTW (channel 13) is a television station licensed to Florence, South Carolina, United States, serving the Pee Dee and Grand Strand regions of South Carolina as an affiliate of CBS. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group, and maintains ...

in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, between 1998 and 1999, when she was fired. Next, she worked as a freelance reporter for ''

The Sun News ''The Sun News'' is a daily newspaper published in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in the United States. It serves the Grand Strand region of South Carolina with a daily circulation of 19,773 and a Sunday circulation of 26,798. It is owned by Cha ...

'', a Myrtle Beach newspaper, and, at the same time, as a freelance reporter for the news agency

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

. 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 The South Carolina State House is the building housing the government of the U.S. state of South Carolina, which includes the South Carolina General Assembly and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. Located in th ...

, and the 2000 Republican presidential primaries. In 2003, Desjardins became a reporter in the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

bureau of the

, where she reported on, among other things, the 2004 presidential election;

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and per ...

; hurricanes; and the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

. Next, Desjardins moved to

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

, 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 A catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest department, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's c ...

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 Avery Publishing is a book publishing imprint of the Penguin Group, founded as an independent publisher in 1976 by Rudy Shur and partners, and purchased by Penguin in 1999. The current president is veteran publisher William Shinker. Their offices ...

. 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 The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill at ...

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 The Longworth House Office Building (LHOB) is one of five office buildings used by the United States House of Representatives. The building is located south of the Capitol, bounded by Independence Avenue, New Jersey Avenue, C Street S.E., and Sou ...

. 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.

Personal life

Desjardins has been married to Jason Desjardins since 2007. They have a son, who was born in 2016, and they live in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Desjardins, Lisa 21st-century American journalists Living people 1972 births American newspaper reporters and correspondents Associated Press reporters Reuters people PBS people CNN people People from Alexandria, Virginia Journalists from Hawaii American women radio journalists American radio reporters and correspondents American women television journalists American television reporters and correspondents American political journalists 21st-century American women