Elizabeth Landers (born August 11, 1990)[1] is an American journalist who was the chief political correspondent for Vice News.
Early life and education
Elizabeth Landers was born on August 11, 1990. Her mother Pamela Forrester is a former television news anchor for WCTV and The Florida Channel.[2][3] Her father Joseph W. Landers Jr. is a lawyer who worked as an environmental adviser in the Governor's Office during
Reubin Askew's term as Florida governor.[2][3] He also served as Secretary of the
Florida Department of Environmental Regulation and executive director of the Florida Department of Natural Resources in the 1970s during Askew's term.[4] Landers recalled the
2000 presidential election "when the entire national and international media descended on Tallahassee when the hanging chad happened" as a catalyst for an interest in politics.[3]
In August 2007, as a teenage writer, Landers interviewed Illinois Senator
Barack Obama during his
2008 presidential bid when his candidacy was considered improbable.[9] She also wrote on fashion and lifestyle for Glamour and Cosmopolitan while an online editorial intern.[10][11] Landers also wrote two articles for The Daily Beast on culture and fashion from 2014 to 2015.[12][13]
CNN (2013-2019)
Landers first joined
CNN as a freelance news assistant in June 2013. She covered Senator
Bernie Sanders'
2016 presidential campaign for CNN. Travelling with the Sanders campaign was a "dream gig" according to Landers.[3] Following the end of the Sanders campaign, Landers became the
White House Producer for CNN in January 2017, covering White House and Capitol Hill affairs as a news correspondent.[14]
Vice News (2019-2023)
In April 2019, Landers joined Vice News as a guest anchor and political correspondent on the show Vice News Tonight.[15][16] It was reported in March 2021 that she had been promoted to chief political correspondent at Vice News.[17] Throughout the
2022 midterm election campaign, Landers covered efforts by Trump-endorsed candidates who deny the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election to run for key election oversight positions like Secretaries of State, Attorneys General, and Governors.[18][19] On April 27, 2023, Landers was included in the layoffs at Vice as the company cut 100 jobs and cancelled its Vice News Tonight program.[20][21]