Mary Hager Named EP Of ‘Face The Nation’

Mary Hager has been named executive producer of Face the Nation, it was announced Friday by Christopher Isham, VP-CBS News Washington Bureau Chief, and Bob Schieffer, chief washington correspondent and anchor of the broadcast.

“As senior producer for the past two years, Mary has been a force at Face the Nation,” said Isham. “Her significant contributions have helped to strengthen the broadcast editorially and competitively.  Her judgment and commitment have been instrumental in guiding the broadcast and she has a proven record of accomplishment as well as the ability, experience and vision to lead Face the Nation.”

“There is no one at CBS News more qualified than Mary Hager to become executive producer of Face the Nation,” said Schieffer. “I have known and worked closely with her since she joined us as a rookie reporter. No one works harder; I remember once during the Clinton impeachment saga, Mary and I worked 57 straight days without a day off and never once did I have to tell her, ‘we’re going to need you tomorrow.’ When there is news, she just shows up without being asked because she loves the news. That’s my kind of reporter and that’s why she has been able to build such a long list of sources, contacts and key people inside Washington and throughout the political community. I know Mary and she knows me. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have as my full partner at Face the Nation.”

Hager brings more than 20 years of political reporting to the position. She was Schieffer’s producer for 10 years and covered virtually every presidential campaign, convention and election night. Hager began her career at CBS News in 1991 as a researcher in the CBS News Political Unit and from there moved to Capitol Hill to work with Schieffer as Senate producer in 1993. In 1999, she moved to the CBS News Atlanta Bureau, working with Byron Pitts in covering the southeast and 2000 campaign, including the presidential recount in Tallahassee. In 2001, she returned to Washington, D.C. as a producer on the CBS Evening News, where she spent eight years covering Congress, politics, the 2004 Kerry Campaign and the George W. Bush White House.

Hager is a graduate of the University of Virginia.