Hosting & Moderating
Political analyst LAURA BARRÓN-LÓPEZ brings her keen journalistic instincts to the role of moderator with finesse. Through her astute questioning and ability to steer conversations, she fosters engaging discussions that delve into the heart of pressing issues. As a moderator, Barrón-López adeptly navigates diverse viewpoints, ensuring a balanced and enlightening exchange that leaves audiences informed and inspired.
Becoming an Insider: Covering Congress & the White House
Throughout LAURA BARRÓN-LÓPEZ’s decade reporting on U.S. politics both on air and in print, she has covered Congress, the White House, and national presidential campaigns. She reflects on the inner workings of these branches of government, how legislation is passed, and the role of the press in shaping the face of democracy.
On the Campaign Trail
With experience covering Congressional, Senatorial, and Presidential campaigns, LAURA BARRÓN-LÓPEZ has traveled across state lines to interview voters and candidates. With participation in every Presidential election in the past decade, she lays out the big stories providing context to today’s political landscape. In this informative conversation, Barrón-López breaks down the coverage of this upcoming election, voter sentiment, and the evolution of both parties.
Protecting Democracy
For the past decade, LAURA BARRÓN-LÓPEZ has covered voting rights, threats to election workers, increased political violence, and threats to the Constitution. In this talk, she explains the clear and present threats to America's elections, reflecting on the press’s role in preserving democracy.
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Women Making History: Journalist Laura Barrón-López reports live on historic legislative decisions
As a journalist covering the U.S. government, LAURA BARRÓN-LÓPEZ often finds herself traveling to districts voting on contentious legislation. Recently, she has visited Texas, California, and Tennessee this to cover the most pressing topics in the news today: anti-transgender and anti-LGBTQ state-level legislation, battles over education policy, cases of police brutality, and mass shootings. The compassion Barrón-López shows her interviewees is clear in both her demeanor and questions.
As she crosses state lines to find stories, Barrón-López sees the outcome of policy rollouts as they are experienced firsthand by individuals and organizations. Barrón-López’s interviews with the individuals most impacted by current events reflects her skill in approaching hot-button issues with empathy, respect, and nuance.
Watch Laura Barrón-López in conversation at the Atlantic Festival for Women in Media >>
Journalist Laura Barrón-López moderates conversations that help us find common ground
LAURA BARRÓN-LÓPEZ jumps into the most complex conversations of U.S. politics today. Leveraging her background reporting from Capitol Hill as a White House Correspondent, Barrón-López discusses today’s political issues with a depth of understanding only possible at her high level of journalistic rigor.
While she is an expert in her own right, Barrón-López often provides space for experts to contend with moral and ethical questions facing the U.S. government today. In her work with PBS NewsHour, Barrón-López engages experts in critical conversations on topics such as the role and nature of the Executive Branch today and how U.S. religious leaders are combatting political radicalization. Proving herself a stellar moderator, Barrón-López’s ability to focus the conversation productively reflected her thoughtful coverage of hotly contested political issues.
Laura Barrón-López is the White House Correspondent for the PBS NewsHour, where she covers the Biden administration for the nightly news broadcast. Barrón-López also covers threats to democracy, and the 2024 election for NewsHour. She is also a CNN political analyst where she reports on news of the day and offers analysis based on her decade of experience covering government and politics.
In her time at PBS NewsHour, she’s traveled to Lewiston, Maine to cover the devastating impact on residents in and around the town after a shooter killed 18 people. In Taylor and Austin, Texas, she’s spoken to residents about Republican efforts to restrict LGBTQ rights. During the 2022 midterms, Barrón-López traveled to Michigan to report on election deniers seeking public office and death threats against election workers. She’s questioned President Biden at bilateral press conferences about civilian casualties in Gaza and efforts by Republicans to overturn the 2020 election. She has also guest moderated PBS’ Friday news program, Washington Week with The Atlantic.
Previously, Barrón-López was a White House reporter for POLITICO. In her time covering the Biden administration for POLITICO, she focused on the power dynamics between the White House and Capitol Hill, covering the president's agenda on gun violence, immigration, voting rights, infrastructure and more. Barrón-López previously covered the 2020 presidential election for POLITICO as a national political reporter, focusing on voter demographics, and policy shifts within the Democratic Party.
Barrón-López previously led 2018 coverage of the Democratic Party for the Washington Examiner. Before that, Barrón-López covered Congress for HuffPost, focusing on policy debates across the House and Senate, including climate change, criminal justice reform, and coal miner pensions.
Early in her career, she covered energy and environment policy for The Hill. Her work has been published in E&E Publishing, The Oregonian, OC Register, and Roll Call. Barrón-López earned a bachelor's degree from California State University, Fullerton.
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