Vice promotes Liz Landers to chief political correspondent

Vice News has promoted Liz Landers to chief political correspondent, tasking her with leading on-air political coverage for its newsmagazine TV show “VICE News Tonight” and the outlet’s broader news coverage.

Landers, who started in the role in February, also guest anchors “VICE News Tonight,” which airs at 11 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday. A Vice spokeswoman said Landers earned the promotion for her expertise and reporting.

While Landers’s coverage includes the White House and Congress, her work, like much of Vice’s content, often includes reports from outside Washington, which continued during the pandemic.

“We do things here in D.C., so I’m up on the Hill covering things going on at the White House and at the agencies,” she said. “But we also get out into the world and cover stories and how they impact people’s lives. [During] the pandemic there was a lot of trepidation in going out into the field, but we found a way to keep people safe.”

Landers said she is particularly interested in news surrounding gun issues, racial justice and the Biden administration’s efforts to address climate change.

Vice News tends to run longer video spots than broadcast or cable outlets, which allows Landers more room to tell the kind of character-driven stories that Vice specializes in.

“When you look at the evening news, most pieces broadcasted are 30 seconds or two minutes [at most],” she said. “My shortest piece is 3 1/2 minutes. And most pieces in the field are five or six minutes … I do find it gives me more room to dive in on an issue.”

Prior to joining Vice in 2019, Landers worked at CNN and covered Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Vice President Mike Pence during the 2016 election. After the campaign ended, she covered the White House and Capitol Hill.