Leland Vittert Biography

Leland Vittert is an American journalist working for NewsNation as the chief Washington anchor and host of On Balance with Leland Vittert. He joined the station in May 2021 as an anchor and correspondent.

Leland Vittert Education

Vittert joined the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University after finishing high school. He later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He completed The General Course, a one-year study abroad program at the London School of Economics.

Leland Vittert Career

Vittert works for NewsNation as the chief Washington anchor and host of On Balance with Leland Vittert. In this role, he looks into the reasons behind the most pressing issues, with an intellectual, balanced, and sometimes irreverent take on the news.

Upon joining NewsNation, Vittert initially worked as an anchor and correspondent. In this role, he broadcast national affairs and provided special reports across the network’s primetime weeknight newscasts.

Nexstar declared that Vittert would join NewsNation on May 17, 2021, as a national correspondent and anchor on May 5, 2021. On May 17th, he debuted on air at NewsNation on The Donlon Report and NewsNation Prime. On July 8, 2021, Nexstar shared that he would anchor a primetime show called On Balance with Leland Vittert on NewsNation starting July 19, 2021.

During the 2000s, he worked as a weekend anchor for  KDVR in Denver, Colorado, and as a reporter for WFTV in Orlando, Florida. He also held stints at KATV in Little Rock, KNWA in Fayetteville, and WMTV  in Madison.

Leland Vittert FOX News

Since 2010, Vittert has been an anchor and correspondent for Fox News Channel (FNC). He began his stint there as a foreign correspondent based in Jerusalem. He went to the Middle East in 2010 to follow the Arab Spring. The following year, he served as one of the few reporters on the ground in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on the night that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak abdicated power.

Vittert traveled to Libya during the first days of the nation’s revolution, covering Muammar Gaddafi’s counterattack and later from the besieged city of Misurata. In addition, he provided coverage for the 2012 war between Israel and Hamas and interviewed Muhammad al-Zawahiri, the brother of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Before moving to Washington, D.C., he spent a month in Eastern Ukraine as Russian-backed militias took over parts of the nation in 2014. The following year, he broadcast the Freddie Gray riots in Baltimore. He broke news about the Baltimore mayor’s purported stand-down orders for police and had serious interviews with lawmakers and public figures all over the city.

Before moving to Washington, D.C., in 2014, Vittert spent a month in Eastern Ukraine as Russian-backed militias took over parts of the country. Between 2015 and 2021, he anchored FNC’s America’s News Headquarters, a weekend afternoon newscast.

While covering the George Floyd protests outside the White House in 2020, Vittert and his crew were attacked by protesters and later driven away from the area. During an interview the following day on Cavuto Live, he shared that protesters attacked them after they discovered they were employed by Fox News.

Vittert’s last on-air appearance on Fox News was in January 2021, leaving the station in April. Despite a Fox News spokesperson announcing that they had mutually and amicably parted ways, it was later revealed that one of the Murdochs asked him to leave after he asked President Donald Trump tough questions.

Leland Vittert Age

Vittert was born on August 31, 1982, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America. He is 43 years old as of 2025. Vittert celebrates his birthday on August 31st.

Leland Vittert Height

Vittert stands at an approximate height of 5 feet and 7 inches.

Leland Vittert Family

Vittert was born to Carol and Mark Vittert at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. He grew up with his sister, Liberty. Liberty is a TV chef and clinical professor of data science at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Leland Vittert Wife

Vittert married Rachel Ann Putnam on June 7, 2025. A Universal Life Church minister officiated their ceremony at San Ysidro Ranch.

Leland Vittert Net Worth

Vittert has an estimated net worth ranging between $1 million – $5 million, which he has earned through being a journalist.

Leland Vittert Salary

Vittert earns an annual salary ranging between $40,000 – $ 110,500.

Leland Vittert Book/Autism

Vittert published a memoir titled Born Lucky in September 2025. The book’s title comes from his childhood nickname, Lucky, a name given by a doctor commenting on his survival after his umbilical cord wrapped twice around his neck.

In the memoir, Vittert shared that he has autism and was diagnosed at an early age. Beginning to speak at the age of 3, he was bullied mercilessly in school. His father quit his job so that he could get him through his childhood, despite the challenges of being autistic. He credits his survival to his mother, father, and sister.