Alex Witt knows about career longevity.
Witt, 61, has anchored more hours on MSNBC than any other anchor in the history of the network, covering presidential elections, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the ongoing unrest in Ukraine and so much more. And behind the scenes, she has had the same executive, senior and line producer team for two decades, a rarity in cable news.
“Alex is a great example to younger women in so many ways— as a friend, mother and a working woman,” said Know Your Value founder and “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski. “She shows young women that you have a long runway to work with, and it’s OK to drop everything and be there for your kids, or for yourself if you need to take care of something. Alex is so dependable and so mentally clear on her priorities that she fits everything into her life.”
Witt recently reflected on her 23 years at the network with Know Your Value. The mom of two also chatted about the work-family juggle, how young women can supercharge their careers and more.
Below is the conversation, which has been edited for brevity and clarity:
Know Your Value: You’ve anchored more hours on MSNBC than any other anchor in the history of the network. What an incredible accomplishment. When you look back at your time at the network, is there story or interview you’re particularly fond of?
Alex Witt: … One that really stands out was way back when before the Iraq War began. There was a Saturday morning when weapons inspector Hans Blix from the IAEA was making his way to Baghdad, and he was holding a press conference. And it ended up beginning just as my show was beginning. At the time, I was anchoring four hours at one stretch, and my executive producer said, “Hey, he’s talking in French. Can you translate?” I do speak French, but I never translated about [subjects like] nuclear disarmament or weapons of mass destruction. But I said, “Sure, I’ll give it a try.”
So, I loosely translated what [Blix] was saying … I ended up being on the air for seven hours that day. It was just one of those times when the network was like, “Oh, she’s on a roll. Let, let’s just keep her going.” So that stands out in my mind.
Then there was the Thanksgiving Day [2008] when the Mumbai terror bombings happened … and I ended up missing Thanksgiving dinner with my kids because I had to stay on the air for it. And, you know, things like that are memorable, both for the length of time I was on the air, seven hours… And then of course missing a Thanksgiving dinner. I don’t think I’ve worked Thanksgiving ever since. My kids have threatened me. They’ve said, “ No, working on Thanksgiving… I’m like, ‘yeah, OK. Fine.’”
Know Your Value: Did you always want to go into journalism?
Witt: Definitely. But I didn’t have on-air aspirations … I was obsessed with storytelling and loved watching the news. It was something I did with my father. We watched Walter Cronkite. And I wrote for school newspapers and studied journalism and all that. But I wound up behind the scenes, which I was perfectly happy doing in Los Angeles … I ended up at the TODAY Show doing field producing out of the then-Burbank Bureau, which is now the Los Angeles Bureau.
While producing a series for TODAY, it was suggested that I go on the air. And at first, I thought that they were trying to get rid of me. I said, “What are you talking about?” … The kind of field producing I was doing (which was somewhat back in the golden years), you could work with correspondents and put things together almost entirely. It was suggested that I was doing that already … So I thought, “Why not?” And I went up to the Monterey, Salinas, and Santa Cruz market and made a ton of mistakes. Even though I knew how to write, going in front of the camera was a very different thing. But it took off from there. And I’ve stayed in front of the camera ever since.
Know Your Value: You are a great example of someone with career longevity. What do you think your secret is? And what’s your advice to someone younger who might not be where they want to be yet career wise?
Witt: Pay your dues. I do get a bit frustrated with the younger journalists who don’t believe in paying their dues. They want my job already, and they’ll be a year out of college and I’m thinking, “You know, a little more time is gonna benefit you in the long run.” I’ve seen a lot of people come and go. That’s part of it. But I also think I have two approaches that have worked well for me. That is, put your head down, do the work. And when you leave work, leave it, leave it in the studio.
… Also I’m passionate about what I do. And that helps, by the way, when you have to do a lot of work or work crazy hours, hopefully you’re passionate about it, but I just feel like do the work and don’t expect things to be given to you… You have to be realistic.









