Leland Vittert

Vittert was born on August 31, 1982, in Illinois. Vittert earned a Bachelor of Arts from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, where he joined Theta Chi. He also completed The General Course, a one-year study abroad program at the London School of Economics.

File:LelandVittert.jpg

During the 2000s, Vittert anchored the weekend news at KDVR-TV in Denver, Colorado, and was a reporter for WFTV-TV in Orlando, Florida. He was also at KATV-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas, KNWA-TV in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and WMTV-TV in Madison, Wisconsin.

Vittert's coverage of the Freddie Gray riots in Baltimore was praised by Mediaite and The Daily Caller.{{Cite web|first=Andrew|last=Kirell|url=http://www.mediaite.com/tv/never-treat-pressure-with-pressure-foxs-leland-vittert-talks-to-mediaite-about-his-baltimore-coverage/|title='Never Treat Pressure with Pressure': Fox's Leland Vittert Talks to Mediaite About His Baltimore Coverage|website=Mediaite.com|language=en|date=May 1, 2015|access-date=June 12, 2017}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-reporter-confronts-baltimore-mayor-and-sharpton-in-terse-exchange/|title=Fox Reporter Confronts Baltimore Mayor and Sharpton in Tense Exchange|website=Mediaite|language=en|access-date=June 12, 2017}}{{Cite web|first=Andrew|last=Kirell|url=http://www.mediaite.com/tv/the-worst-moment-of-foxs-baltimore-riot-coverage/|title=The Worst Moment of Fox's Baltimore Riot Coverage|website=Mediaite|language=en|date=April 28, 2015|access-date=June 12, 2017}} According to Mediaite, Vittert "made his mark…by standing among protesters, facing a silent line of riot police, while interviewing residents and demonstrators affected by the story in various ways. He [broke] news about the Baltimore mayor's alleged stand-down orders for police, and [had] tense question-and-answer exchanges with lawmakers and public figures throughout the city."{{Cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/source-baltimore-mayor-ordered-police-to-stand-down|title=Source: Baltimore Mayor Ordered Police to Stand Down During Riots|website=Mediaite.com|language=en|date=May 2, 2016|access-date=June 12, 2017}}

Arriving in the Middle East in 2010, Vittert began following the Arab Spring. In 2011, he was one of the few reporters live on the ground in Cairo's Tahrir Square on the night that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak left power. Vittert subsequently traveled to Libya during the first days of the country's revolution, where he reported on Muammar Gaddafi's counterattack and later from the besieged city of Misurata.{{Cite web|url=http://video.foxnews.com/v/4582906/?#sp=show-clips|title=Leland Vittert on Libya Latest|date=March 13, 2011|website=Fox News|language=en-US|access-date=June 12, 2017}}{{cite web|last=Fox News Insider|title=VIDEO: Fox Reporter Leland Vittert Caught in Middle of Libyan Battle|website=YouTube |date=March 7, 2011|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSLxPdjalSk|accessdate=June 12, 2017}}

Vittert covered Operation Pillar of Cloud, the 2012 war between Israel and Hamas.{{Cite news|url=http://therightscoop.com/fox-news-reporter-runs-for-cover-at-israeli-school-targeted-by-hamas-rocket/|title=Fox News reporter runs for cover at Israeli school targeted by Hamas rocket|date=November 19, 2012|work=The Right Scoop|access-date=June 12, 2017|language=en-US}} He has interviewed Muhammad al-Zawahiri, the brother of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.{{Cite web|url=http://video.foxnews.com/v/1846053163001/?#sp=show-clips|title=Brother of Al Qaeda Leader al-Zawahiri Talks About Call for Anti-American Protests|date=September 17, 2012|website=Fox News|language=en-US|access-date=June 12, 2017}}{{Cite web|url=http://video.foxnews.com/v/5269686848001/?#sp=show-clips|title=The failed suicide bomber who loved Leland Vittert|date=January 3, 2017|website=Fox News|language=en-US|access-date=June 12, 2017}}

Before coming to Washington, D.C., in 2014, Vittert spent a month in Eastern Ukraine as Russian-backed militias took over parts of the country.{{Cite web|url=http://video.foxnews.com/v/3537939157001/?#sp=show-clips|title=Fighting leaves six dead in Eastern Ukraine|date=May 5, 2014|website=Fox News|language=en-US|access-date=June 12, 2017}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/complete-lie-pro-russian-official-denies-role-in-mysterious-leaflets-to-ukrainian-jews/|title='Complete lie': Pro-Russian official denies role in mysterious leaflets to Ukrainian Jews|date=April 18, 2014|work=Fox News|access-date=June 12, 2017|language=en-US}}

While covering the George Floyd protests outside the White House in Washington, D.C., Vittert and his crew were attacked by protesters and later chased away from the area.{{Cite web|title=Fox News reporter attacked, chased from demonstration |url=https://www.boston.com/news/media/2020/05/30/fox-news-reporter-leland-vittert-attacked-protest|website=www.boston.com|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-30}} In an interview on Cavuto Live the following day, Vittert stated that he and his crew were assaulted after a protester realized they were employed by Fox News.{{Cite web|title=Fox News' Leland Vittert Describes "Very Frightening" Scene Near White House As Protest Targets He And His Crew|url=https://deadline.com/2020/05/fox-news-david-vittert-george-floyd-protests-white-house-lafayette-park-1202947277/|last=Johnson|first=Ted|date=May 30, 2020|website=Deadline Hollywood|language=en|access-date=May 30, 2020}}{{Cite web|title=Journalists voice support for Fox News crew hounded by protesters: 'Unacceptable'|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/500272-journalists-voice-support-for-fox-news-crew-hounded-by-protesters-unacceptable|last=Byrnes|first=Jesse|date=May 30, 2020|website=The Hill|language=en|access-date=May 30, 2020}}

Vittert's last on-air appearance on Fox News was in January 2021; he left the network in April 2021. A Fox News spokesperson said, "We have mutually and amicably parted ways with Leland Vittert", leaving it unclear whether he quit or was fired.{{cite web |title=Fox News Parts Ways With Anchor Leland Vittert, Off Air Since Just After Covering Capitol Riots |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/fox-news-parts-ways-anchor-223148955.html |first=Ross A. |last=Lincoln |date=April 30, 2021 |work=TheWrap}} On May 5, 2021, Nexstar announced that Vittert will join NewsNation starting May 17, 2021, as a national correspondent and anchor.{{Cite web|title=Former Fox News anchor Leland Vittert joins NewsNation - Robert Feder|url=https://www.robertfeder.com/2021/05/05/former-fox-news-anchor-leland-vittert-joins-newsnation/|access-date=2021-05-05|website=www.robertfeder.com}} On May 17, 2021, Vittert made his first appearance for NewsNation on The Donlon Report and NewsNation Prime. On July 8, 2021, Nexstar announced that Vittert would anchor a primetime show called On Balance with Leland Vittert on NewsNation starting July 19, 2021.{{Cite web|first=A.J.|last=Katz|title=Leland Vittert Earns His Own Primetime Show on NewsNation|url=https://adweek.it/2VdOMhC|date=July 8, 2021|access-date=July 12, 2021|website=Adweek|language=en-US}}

Vittert won Westword's Best Hair on a TV Anchor Award in 2007. His sister, Liberty Vittert, is a television chef and professor of data science at Harvard University.{{Cite web|url=http://gatewayjr.org/2012/08/31/media-mogul-mark-vittert-shuns-the-media/|title=Media mogul Mark Vittert shuns the media {{!}} Gateway Journalism Review|website=gatewayjr.org|language=en-US|access-date=June 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510173315/http://gatewayjr.org/2012/08/31/media-mogul-mark-vittert-shuns-the-media/|archive-date=May 10, 2017|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/news/archives/2016/may/headline_459362_en.html|title=University of Glasgow - MyGlasgow - MyGlasgow News - Archives (pre 2017) - 2016 - May - Meet Dr Liberty Vittert|website=Gla.ac.uk|language=en|access-date=June 12, 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://slice.mit.edu/2016/06/24/american-cooking-on-scottish-tv-ask-the-statistics-expert/|title=American Cooking on Scottish TV? Ask the Statistics Expert|last=Smith|first=Nancy DuVergne|date=June 24, 2016|website=Slice of MIT from the MIT Alumni Association|access-date=June 12, 2017}}{{Dead link|date=October 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{clear}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vittert, Leland}}

Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics

Category:American television news anchors

Category:Living people

Category:Medill School of Journalism alumni

Category:Northwestern University alumni

Category:American male journalists

Category:21st-century American journalists

Category:1982 births