You’ve probably seen her face late at night or early in the morning, delivering the kind of news that actually sticks with you. Jessi Mitchell CBS News anchor and reporter, has become one of those rare journalists who feels more like a neighbor than a talking head. She isn't just reading a teleprompter. Honestly, she’s busy rewriting the playbook for how local news connects with actual human beings.
She's currently the anchor of the CBS News Roundup, which hits the airwaves around 1 am ET. But if you really want to know why she matters, you have to look at what she did on the streets of Harlem.
Mitchell wasn't just a reporter passing through; she was the first-ever "community reporter" hired across all CBS-owned stations. That’s a big deal. Usually, news crews drop into a neighborhood when something goes wrong and vanish as soon as the camera turns off. Mitchell stayed. She embedded. She made the stories of Harlem her primary focus, and in doing so, she basically proved that hyper-local journalism is the future of the industry.
From the Golf Course to the Anchor Desk
It’s kinda wild to think about where she started. Jessi Mitchell didn't just fall into journalism; she worked her way through a very different kind of pressure: competitive sports. She attended Hampton University on a full academic scholarship. While most students were just trying to pass exams, she was captaining the women’s golf team.
- She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.
- Her father, Reggie Mitchell, was actually the head golf coach at Hampton.
- She’s an avid sneaker collector (a "sneakerhead," if we’re being real).
That discipline shows up in her reporting. Whether it’s covering the tragic Atlanta spa shootings or the Christmas Day explosion in Nashville, she’s got this calm, steady presence. She won a national Emmy for her work in the CBS News Atlanta bureau, alongside a Silver Gavel and a Gracie Award. You don't get those by just showing up. You get them by digging.
Why the Harlem Beat Changed Everything
When Jessi Mitchell joined the CBS News New York team, her assignment was specific: Harlem. For years, residents of historic neighborhoods have felt like the media only cares about them when there’s a crime. Mitchell flipped that narrative.
She covered the 100th anniversary of the Schomburg Center. She reported on a pediatric clinic in East Harlem fighting falling literacy scores. She even did a piece on a young man from Mauritania helping other asylum seekers settle into the city. Basically, she looked for the "bridge" stories—the ones that connect people rather than just highlighting their problems.
In 2023, she gave a TEDxHarlem talk titled "Bridging the Gaps Between Us." It wasn't just corporate speak. She talked about how storytelling can actually fix the disconnect between different demographics. It’s a philosophy that seems to drive everything she does at CBS News.
A Career Built on the "Hard" Stories
Before she was a household name in New York or anchoring nationally on the Roundup, Mitchell spent seven years grinding in local news. We're talking Oklahoma City, Colorado Springs, and Columbus, Georgia.
These aren't the glitzy markets. These are the places where you learn to be a "multi-skilled journalist"—meaning you’re often the one shooting the video, writing the script, and editing the final piece. She used that time to focus on issues that often get buried: domestic violence survivors, homeless populations, and minority communities that the "big" news cycle tends to ignore.
What Most People Get Wrong About Late-Night News
A lot of folks assume that anchoring the CBS News Roundup at 1 am is just a "fill-in" shift. They couldn't be more wrong. In today’s 24-hour cycle, that's often when the biggest international stories are breaking or when the West Coast is in the thick of their evening news.
Since February 2025, Mitchell has been the steady hand for that weekday slot. She’s taking over a legacy that includes programs formerly known as Up to the Minute and CBS Overnight News. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Life Outside the Newsroom
It’s easy to forget that reporters have lives, too. Mitchell is a Los Angeles native who grew up in Atlanta, which might explain her eclectic style and love for hot yoga. She’s also a member of SGI-USA, which is a diverse Buddhist community.
And then there's Scotty. If you follow her at all, you know about her dog, Scotty. Long walks with him seem to be her way of decompressing after a shift that ends when most of us are just starting our first REM cycle.
Real Impact: More Than Just a Headline
What makes Jessi Mitchell CBS News coverage stand out is the "why" behind the "what." In early 2026, she’s continued to focus on the human element of policy. When she reports on housing preservation or bad landlords in NYC, she isn't just quoting city officials. She’s standing in the hallways of the buildings.
She was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame at Hampton's Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications. It’s a well-deserved nod to a career that’s stayed remarkably consistent in its mission: to use the microphone for people who don't usually get one.
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Actionable Insights for Following Her Work:
- Watch the Roundup: Catch her on the CBS News Roundup weekdays at 1 am ET for a concise, thoughtful look at the day's events without the usual daytime cable shouting.
- Follow the Community Beat: Check out the CBS New York "Harlem" tag online. Even though she's anchoring now, the groundwork she laid for community reporting continues to influence how the station covers upper Manhattan.
- Check her Documentaries: Look for her work on climate change and immigration. She’s produced two documentaries that dive much deeper than a two-minute news segment allows.
- Support Local Journalism: Mitchell’s career proves that "local" doesn't mean "small." If you want better news, support the reporters who actually live in and care about the neighborhoods they cover.
Whether she's talking about the Lindy Hop in a swing dance segment or the gritty reality of the migrant crisis, Jessi Mitchell is proof that you can be professional without being robotic. She’s a golfer, a sneakerhead, and a Buddhist, but most of all, she’s a storyteller who actually listens. That’s why people keep tuning in.