Blayne Alexander announced as 'Dateline's' new correspondent

NBC News correspondent Blayne Alexander has been named the newest correspondent for “Dateline.”

Alexander returned from maternity leave to make the announcement live on "TODAY" on Tuesday.

“This is quite a way to come back from maternity leave, first day back after 4 1/2 months. I could not be more excited to join this team. I keep telling everybody, this is a journalist’s dream, right? I’ve been watching ‘Dateline’ since I was a little girl,” Alexander said, noting she used to watch "TODAY" co-anchor Hoda Kotb on “Dateline.” “And so to be here, to be part of this institution, just means everything.”

Alexander was joined by “Dateline” correspondents Keith Morrison, Andrea Canning and Josh Mankiewicz, who had multiple surprises up their sleeves. After announcing their newest correspondent, they showed throwback footage from a Peabody award-winning “Dateline” episode in which Kotb interviewed a teacher.

“I remember the story like it was yesterday,” Kotb said after watching the clip. “She’s an amazing human being.”

Alexander joins anchor Lester Holt and correspondents Canning, Mankiewicz, Morrison and Dennis Murphy on the No. 1 most-watched newsmagazine and true-crime franchise on TV, with over 128.1 million total viewers, according to Nielsen.

“Blayne Alexander is an outstanding journalist who brings depth and perspective to every story she tells. Her ability to navigate complex topics has been evident throughout her career,” the show’s senior executive producer Liz Cole and executive producer Paul Ryan said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to officially welcome her to the ‘Dateline’ family.”

Alexander joined NBC in 2017 as a Washington-based correspondent for NBC News Channel, the affiliate service for NBC News.

She became an Atlanta-based correspondent for NBC News in 2019, and has reported on the pandemic, the 2020 elections and the nationwide protests around racial injustice in 2020, according to her website.

The four-time Emmy Award nominee has reported from the White House and Wimbledon, as well as multiple continents, during her career.

Alexander, a native of Oklahoma City, graduated from Duke University and reported for two local news stations in Georgia before starting at NBC.

Alexander lives in Atlanta with her husband, James Bailey, and their two daughters, Sage Milan, 3, and Skylar Alexander, born earlier this year.