Peter Alexander Announces Departure From NBC News

Peter Alexander, NBC News‘ chief White House correspondent and co-host of Today on Saturdays, said that he is departing the network.

Alexander, who has been with the network for 22 years, cited personal reasons, but sources say that he is expected to join MS NOW, which formerly was NBC News’ sister network.

On Today on Saturday, Alexander called the show “literally my happy place,” but talked of the demands of trekking each Friday evening from his home in the Washington area to New York.

“I’ve been away from home more than 80 nights in the last seven months, more than 220 Friday nights, 220 Fridays nights away from my family in the last seven years,” Alexander told viewers on Saturday. “So it’s a limited window before my daughters lose interest in hanging out with me. It’s happened quick. I’m eager to carve out a better balance bwteen my personal and professional lives and to challenge myself with something new.”

An MS NOW spokesperson declined to comment. The network recently announced an overhaul of its daytime schedule, with an 11 a.m. anchor slot still unfilled, but it has been building out its own newsroom since the split from Comcast.

Chloe Arensberg, senior vice president and Washington bureau chief, and Matt Carluccio, executive producer of Today, said in a memo, “Peter has been a trusted presence with great range across NBC News, and a friend to so many across the Washington Bureau, Today and the broader NBC News team. 
We are grateful for all his contributions and wish him the best.”

Alexander has been Saturday Today co-host since 2018, and served as co-chief White House correspondent along with Kristen Welker starting in 2021. He later became sole chief White House correspondent when Welker departed to become moderator of Meet the Press.

The Los Angeles Times first reported on Alexander’s plans to join MS NOW.

Most recently, Alexander led coverage of the U.S. Voperation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and, some weeks later, he interviewed the Iranian foreign minister, just hours after the U.S. and Iran launched attacks against the Tehran regime. Alexander is the winner of the Edward R. Murrow Award and the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Political Journalism.

Alexander said on Today, “I’ve had the most incredible experience over 22 years with NBC News,” adding that he has worked with “the most professional, the most dedicated journalists in the business. I could not be more grateful for everyone one of them, for the leaders and mentors here who have believed in me and given me more opportunities that I ever dreamed of.”