NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell and CNN chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin have been named to Elle‘s list of the 10 most influential women in Washington.
Elle calls Mitchell the “living, breathing embodiment” of fictional heroines:
Andrea Mitchell idolized plucky heroines like Nancy Drew and Brenda Starr when she was a girl; today, as NBC News’ chief foreign affairs correspondent, she’s the living, breathing embodiment of those fearless investigators, careening daily from Today at the crack of dawn to her own show, Andrea Mitchell Reports, on MSNBC at midday to the Nightly News With Brian Williams, and then back home to her husband, former federal reserve chairman Alan Greenspan (how’s that for a power couple?).
Advertisement[…] “Andrea is a network-news legend in real time,” says Brian Williams. “She’s a trailblazer who remains in control of the trail.”
The magazine also profiles Yellin, who cleared several hurdles on her path to become the sole female chief White House correspondent:
Though Yellin decided early on that she wanted to cover the commander in chief, the road to DC was paved with rejection: When she tried to break in, she was told she was too old (at 25!), too short, too blond, and that she’d be better suited to secretarial work. She persevered, paying her dues chronicling local Florida news, before being assigned to cover election night 2000—which turned into Bush v. Gore, and Yellin’s work became national news.
[…] “I used to read stories about people who succeeded despite being told they couldn’t. When your career begins with no, how do you get past it?” she says. “When I heard no, I thought, Now I have to prove them wrong.”