Spring 2025 Fellow
Betsy Fischer Martin is an Emmy-winning journalist and former TV news executive. She serves as the Executive Director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University and is a faculty member in the university’s Department of Government, where she teaches courses on campaigns, elections, and the media. In the fall of 2023, she also served as a Resident Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics.
During her television news career, she spent 23 years at NBC News, advancing from an intern to Executive Producer of Meet the Press in less than a decade. In this role, she produced hundreds of newsmaking interviews with U.S. presidents, congressional leaders, political candidates, and heads of state. In 2013, she became the Managing Editor of NBC News Political Programming, contributing to political coverage for NBC Nightly News and the Today Show.
Fischer Martin worked closely with the late Tim Russert for 17 years, producing his headline-making interviews for Meet the Press. She also served as his producer for NBC’s coverage of special events and four presidential elections, including the historic 2000 election night and the subsequent recount.
During the 2016 presidential campaign cycle, she was a contributor to Bloomberg Politics, where she co-hosted Masters in Politics, a political podcast featuring interviews with presidential candidates, government officials, and key strategists. She also served as the Contributing Editor for Washington at MORE magazine, where she interviewed female political leaders about policy issues, women’s empowerment, and leadership.
She has received numerous awards for her work at NBC, including three News and Documentary Emmys, the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Political Journalism, and a Gracie Award from American Women in Radio and Television. In her role as a U.S. politics expert, she has provided on-air analysis for various television networks, including CBS News, MSNBC, NBC News, CNN, and the BBC.
She serves on the Global Board of Directors for the International Women’s Forum, is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and is an alumna of the Young Global Leaders program at the World Economic Forum.
A native of New Orleans, Fischer Martin completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at American University in Washington, D.C. She graduated cum laude from the School of Public Affairs and earned a master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from the AU School of Communication.
Study Group: Politics in the Television Age and Beyond
We will explore significant aspects of television in American society, including how television news has affected and continues to affect the presidency, Congress, and political campaigns. Students will develop an understanding of the role of the media in providing information about political, economic, and social institutions, and evolving trends in political reporting and newsgathering techniques. We will also examine how political figures have sought to use television—and emerging media—to influence public opinion and political outcomes. Students will become more informed viewers of television news and develop a deeper understanding of the complexities of the press-politician relationship and explore “biases” that can exist in political reporting.
Tuesdays, 4-6 p.m. PT
January 28
February 4
March 11
March 25