Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty
Natalie Moraleshas kickstarted her journey as an officialDatelinecorrespondent.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the journalist, 48, opens up about her decision to join theDatelineteam — and how she managed to keep her composure after coming face-to-face with a murderer for her first episode in the role.
“I feel like I’m joiningDatelineat the perfect time,” she says. “Datelineis on fire, people are obsessed [with true crime]. And this is the kind of the time to be in it. For me, being a part of this team that I’ve long admired, to work with some of the greatest storytellers there are in this genre, is fantastic.”
Eric Ray Davidson/NBC
“I’m not going to lie, I didn’t sleep very much the night before,” she confesses. “I was a little nervous. And I prepared as I would any interview, but with this one, having seen the photos, and knowing the details, and having interviewed so many of her friends, I went in there with a set of questions that they wanted answers to.”
“You also have to be careful when you’re doing this too, because I don’t want to give them a platform, either,” she continues. “So it’s not like we’re giving him a license to just speak his mind … and clear his conscience. We have to balance these things out with their friends, and her surviving family are going to watch this and it’s going to be painful. So knowing that, it’s a very delicate act.”
The Dateline team.Michael Loccisano/NBC
While Morales is no stranger to storytelling, theTodayshow anchor and formerAccess Hollywoodhost says she’s looking forward to exploring this particular genre.
“With theTodayshow, and withNBC Nightly News, you can really go about two minutes into a story and then you’re done,” she says. “After a week, people are done with the story or they don’t have the attention span we used to. And I think this is refreshing in that it gives me an opportunity to really do a deep dive into storytelling, and really be able to kind of develop the characters and let things breathe a little bit”
RELATED VIDEO:Dateline’s Keith Morrison on His ‘Weird’ Fame, Huge Family and 50 Years in the Business
“There is nothing more emotionally disturbing as a parent than when you’re talking about another parent having lost their child,” says Morales, who shares sons Luke, 12, and Joseph, 17, with husband Joe Rhodes. “You can’t feel what they’re feeling, but just imagining their tremendous sense of loss — I think you just know at the end of the day, you owe it to your family to come home … and be present as much as you can. But it is hard. I can’t lie. There are nights that I don’t sleep well all the time because I’m thinking about families, or people that I’ve talked to over the years, who’ve lost children or loved ones.”
Despite the hardships, Morales is looking forward to this next chapter with her new team, which includes anchorLester Holtand fellow correspondentsAndrea Canning, Josh Mankiewicz,Keith Morrisonand Dennis Murphy.
Morales' first official episode ofDatelinepremieres Friday at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.
source: people.com
