ROBERTS TO BE CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER FOR ‘MacNEIL/LEHRER’

NEW YORK — Cokie Roberts, longtime Capitol Hill correspondent for National Public Radio, was named congressional reporter for public-television’s “MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour” on Thursday.

Roberts, 43, will continue to report for NPR’s “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.”

“I have a lot of energy, and I’ve been doing this kind of long-form, in-depth coverage and analysis for a long time,” she explained in a brief telephone interview from Capitol Hill.

The “NewsHour” previously had announced plans to establish a production unit on Capitol Hill to provide full-time congressional coverage. Co-anchor Jim Lehrer said Thursday that the unit probably would be making its first contribution to the newscast that night or tonight.

Roberts, who has appeared with occasional congressional reports since the “NewsHour” premiered six years ago, is the only on-air correspondent planned for the new unit, he said. There will be three or four other staffers behind the cameras, plus a camera crew.

“She is a natural choice for the job,” Lehrer said. “She brings a quality to her work that fits the ‘NewsHour’ perfectly. She understands the political process and takes it seriously, yet she’s not overwhelmed by it. She puts it all in perspective.”

Lehrer said he and Judy Woodruff, “NewsHour’s” Washington correspondent, will continue to provide “an overview” of news in the nation’s capital and conduct interviews with congressional figures.