3. You’re raising two kids with your husband, Jay Bailey. Working for Dateline potentially means delving into some dark stories involving the various harms facing children. Do you anticipate the job impacting your parenting?
If anything, being a parent impacts the way I do this job. I always bring my lived perspective to each story, and being a mother has changed the way I approach everything in life, including my interviews. When I was shooting my second Dateline broadcast last year, I interviewed a brother and sister who lost their mom at a young age. And even though they are adults now, when they recounted that day, they spoke almost from the child-like perspective of their lived experience.
At the time, out oldest daughter was two and I was pregnant with our youngest. So I know I related to them and that story much differently than I would have before having children; it impacted the questions I asked, the way I reacted and even the way I approached them during our conversation—and made for much richer storytelling in the end because of the natural empathy that went into reporting it.
4. You’ve covered the Olympics as a journalist. If you could rewind the clock and compete in the Olympics, which event would you have taken the gold in?
Ha! Well first we’d have to rewind the clock and add talent!! But assuming all of that was in place—I’d love to compete in track and field, specifically the 400m. That was my event in high school and part of college when I ran, and even though those days are LONG behind me, I’m still a huge fan of the sport.
My dad and I go to the trials every four years to watch and analyze races (a tradition that started when I was nine years old). I even Facetimed while covering the Olympics from Rio so he could watch Usain Bolt’s final race with me. So yes, if I could wave a wand and make myself an Olympian, it would absolutely be track and field. It would just have to be a very powerful wand!
5. There aren’t many fictional Blayne’s, but there are several fictional Blaine’s. Which of these characters would you most want to be friends with: Blaine Anderson from Glee,Blaine from Pokemon, or Blaine Edwards from In Living Color?