Natalie Morales joins CBS News as LA reporter
Newslooks- CBS- NEW YORK (AP)
Natalie Morales is joining CBS News as a correspondent and will do stories for the crime series “48 Hours” as well the network’s weekday and weekend morning shows, the network said on Monday. Morales was at NBC News for two decades, working on the “Today” show and “Dateline NBC,” before jumping to the CBS-produced daytime show, “The Talk,” last year. She’s based in Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband and two sons. She begins at CBS News on Nov. 1.
“She has excelled at the highest levels — from network morning shows to longform storytelling — and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have her on our team,” said Neeraj Khemlani, president of CBS News and Stations.
CBS has named the award-winning journalist and anchor Natalie Morales as CBS News correspondent, effective November 1. She will also continue to host “The Talk” on CBS.”Natalie is one of the best in the business and a welcome addition to CBS News,” Neeraj Khemlani, president and co-head of CBS News and Stations, said in a news release. “She has excelled at the highest levels — from network morning shows to longform storytelling — and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have her on our team. She will be doing stories for ’48 Hours,’ ‘CBS Mornings,’ “CBS Sunday Morning’ and others. She knows how to get to the heart of a tough story with compassion and grace.”
Before joining CBS in 2021, Morales was the west coast anchor of “Today,” a correspondent for “Dateline NBC” and the anchor of “Behind Closed Doors with Natalie Morales,” a series presented by Reelz. Previously, she was host of “Access,” co-host of “Access Live” and was news anchor of “Today,” where she co-hosted the third hour. She joined “Today” in 2006 as a national correspondent.
During her two decades of reporting for NBC News, she covered many major national and international breaking news events, including the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shooting, the Boston Marathon bombing, the rescue of Chilean miners in 2010 and the 2009 presidential inauguration. In August 2008, Morales had the exclusive jailhouse interview with the infamous Clark Rockefeller. Her other notable reports include Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005 and the election of Pope Francis in 2013. She also reported on the royal wedding in 2011 and the birth of Prince George in 2013.
Morales’ work has been honored with three Daytime Emmy Awards as part of “Today’s” recognition as best morning news program. She’s also earned a Robert F. Kennedy Award, three Gracie Awards, and a national Headliner Award.
“It’s a privilege to contribute to the CBS News programs and I’m hoping to tell the stories that matter and to talk about issues many of us face,” Morales said. “’48 Hours’ pioneered true crime television and I’m looking forward to working with the great team of producers and correspondents to bring the best stories to CBS viewers on Saturday nights.”
“Natalie is a high-profile reporter with a familiar voice that viewers trust. She’s also known for her exclusive, unsparing interviews of notorious criminals including Clark Rockefeller and Drew Peterson,” said Judy Tygard, executive producer of “48 Hours.” “We’ve watched her work for years and we’re excited to have her reporting for us.”
Morales, who speaks Spanish and Portuguese, was born in Taiwan and spent much of the first 18 years of her life living overseas in Panama, Brazil and Spain. She graduated summa cum laude from Rutgers University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and Latin American studies and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.
