Atlanta resident Blayne Alexander has climbed the broadcast TV ladder over the past 17 years almost entirely at NBC or NBC-affiliated stations, culminating in a coveted job on “Dateline NBC.”
Alexander did two previous stories for “Dateline NBC” as an audition of sorts, and the bosses liked what they saw. Her first in-depth story as a full-time “Dateline NBC” correspondent debuts this Friday at 9 p.m. and will be available the next day on Peacock.
“This place is the gold standard,” said Alexander in a phone interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “’Dateline’ is such a trusted brand. It’s a journalist’s dream to be here.”
Alexander’s first job after graduating from Duke University was as a desk assistant at NBC’s Washington, D.C. office in 2008. She bought staffers lunch, sent faxes and made copies. She then landed a job as a multimedia journalist at a CBS station in Augusta.
There, she learned the art of creating a video news package in a short period, largely by herself. “I would do a full interview with people and forget to mic them up,” she said. “I’d make those mistakes and have to redo them. I’d come home exhausted, then have to come up with pitches at the 9 a.m. meeting the next day.”
Credit: Miller Mobley/NBC
Credit: Miller Mobley/NBC
Atlanta NBC affiliate 11Alive (WXIA-TV) saw her potential and hired her in 2011 when she was just 24. As an Oklahoma native, “I knew very little about Atlanta,” she said. “In my mind, it was so intimidating. The traffic was scary and the other reporters were scary. But it was an incredible experience. I grew very quickly, figured it out and found my footing.”
She said she received mentorship from veteran staff including award-winning anchor Brenda Wood, who retired in 2017.
“We knew right away Blayne was destined for the network,” said Jeff Hullinger, an anchor at the station from 2010 to 2023. “Super smart journalist, great on camera and a warm engaging presence in the newsroom. A special person.”
John Deushane, who was general manager while Alexander was at 11Alive, said he recalled her asking him more questions than the other way around during her job interview. “Blayne had a strong presence even as a young reporter,” he said. “Blayne had both the talent and drive to take her gift to the network level. It didn’t surprise me that the offer was made by NBC nor that she jumped at the opportunity.”
While in Atlanta, she met and married Georgian Jay Bailey, who runs the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs. They now have two young children.
When NBC hired her away from 11Alive for a job in D.C. in 2017 to provide feeds to local news stations around the country, she split time between the two cities. She was on 11Alive so often that many people didn’t even realize she had left.
“The day James Comey testified, I did 43 different live shots,” she said. “It was a grind but I learned so much there.”
She became a full-time correspondent for NBC News in 2019 out of Atlanta, She covered the George Floyd protests and got tear gassed twice in downtown Atlanta. She reported on everything from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s response to the pandemic to the Ahmaud Arbery case to Donald Trump’s indictment.
While at NBC News, she volunteered to do a couple of stories for “Dateline NBC.”
“People would say, ‘There goes Blayne doing her side hustle,’” she said. “I really loved it. I was insanely curious and excited by the opportunity.”
Credit: NBC
Credit: NBC
She is thrilled to be part of the storied “Dateline NBC” crew which includes veteran hosts like Keith Morrison and Josh Mankiewicz. “I grew up a news junkie watching ‘NBC Nightly News’ with Tom Brokaw,’” she said. “I watched the ‘Today’ show before school.”
Her first case as a full-time correspondent will air Friday, Feb. 28 and will revolve around the 2016 murder of Rhonda “Chantay” Blankinship in Brownwood, Texas.
“She went missing walking around a lake,” Alexander said. “She had some mental challenges. She was ultimately found brutally murdered and dumped in an old debilitated house that many people thought was haunted.”
For the story, she took two trips to Brownwood last month, interviewing 18 people connected to the case.
Credit: NBC
Credit: NBC
“We get to spend a lot of time with each person, which is a rarity, a luxury,” Alexander said. “You spend two or three hours with each person. It’s really a gift to do such deep storytelling.”
She said the interviews have “made me a stronger journalist. You have to be incredibly prepared and focused and on the entire time.”
It’s been more than four months since NBC announced Alexander’s new job on the “Today” show. She is glad to finally have one of her cases on air.
“This is not my side hustle anymore,” she said. “This is my main thing. I’m ready to put my all in this for sure.”
IF YOU WATCH
“Dateline NBC,” 9 p.m. Fridays on NBC and available on Peacock the next day
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