Today Show's Natalie Morales comes to Park

Natalie Morales, “Today” show national correspondent and co-anchor of the NBC program’s fourth hour, will be this year’s speaker in the Jessica Savitch Distinguished Journalism Lecture Series at Ithaca College.

Morales will discuss her career, the changes in journalism and the importance of covering the elections on Thursday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m. in Park Hall Auditorium.

Morales joined “Today” as a national correspondent in 2006 and was named a co-anchor in 2007. She also fills in regularly at the news desk. She had previously been an anchor and correspondent at MSNBC since March 2002, during which time she contributed to the network’s coverage of such stories as Hurricane Katrina and the recovery efforts, the 2004 tsunami disaster in Asia, the death of Pope John Paul II, the 2004 presidential election, the war in Iraq, and the Columbia space shuttle explosion.

Prior to joining MSNBC, Morales spent three years as a morning news co-anchor and correspondent at NBC’s WVIT in Hartford, Connecticut. She also co-hosted and reported for the Emmy-nominated documentary “Save Our Sound,” a joint production with WNBC on preserving Long Island Sound. She began her on-air journalism career at News 12 in the Bronx after spending two years working behind the scenes at Court TV.

Morales earned a dual degree in journalism and Latin American studies from Rutgers University. She has received the “Groundbreaking Latina in Media” award from “Catalina” magazine and the National Association of Latina Leaders, while “Hispanic” magazine named her one of the “Top Hispanics to Watch” in 2005 and “People en Español” named her one of its “50 Most Beautiful People” for 2007.

The Jessica Savitch Distinguished Journalism Lecture Series is sponsored by the Roy H. Park School of Communications. It honors the 1968 Ithaca College graduate who became an Emmy Award–winning NBC News anchor and correspondent. Previous speakers in the series have included Andrea Mitchell, Ann Curry, John Seigenthaler, Mara Liasson and Cokie Roberts.