Norah O'Donnell
Norah O'Donnell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 23, 1974 |
| Status | Married |
| Education | B.A., M.A.; Georgetown University |
| Occupation | Television news correspondent |
| Notable credit(s) | Chris Matthews, NBC Nightly News, Dateline NBC, Weekend Today |
| Title | Chief Washington correspondent |
| Spouse | Geoff Tracy |
| Children | Henry Tracey (twin) Grace Tracey (twin) Riley Norah Tracy |
Norah O'Donnell (born January 23, 1974) is a rambling commentator for the NBC News Today program and chief Washington, D.C. correspondent for MSNBC. In addition O'Donnell co-anchors The New York Times Edition Fridays at 2pm on MSNBC Live, and is a rotating news anchor on Weekend Today. From September 2003 to May 2005, O'Donnell served as White House correspondent for NBC News. O'Donnell has done reports that have appeared on numerous NBC News broadcasts, including NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, Dateline NBC, and MSNBC. O'Donnell has also filled in for Chris Matthews as host of Hardball with Chris Matthews and is a regular pundit for The Chris Matthews Show. She filled in for Tucker Carlson on his show The Situation with Tucker Carlson on January 12, 2007 for the first time. Prior to joining NBC News, O'Donnell served as staff writer for Roll Call, where she covered Congress. She has also co-hosted the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade on WNBC since 2007. Washingtonian Magazine has named O’Donnell as one of Washington’s 100 most powerful women. O’Donnell has also been named to Irish American Magazine’s 2000 “Top 100 Irish Americans” list.
O'Donnell has co-hosted the third hour of The Today Show in October 2009.
Early life
O'Donnell was born in Washington, D.C. She graduated from Douglas MacArthur High School (San Antonio, Texas). She holds a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and a masters degree in international affairs from Georgetown University.
Personal life
O'Donnell lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, restaurateur Geoff Tracy, whom she married in June 2001. She is no relation to fellow NBC News correspondent Kelly O'Donnell or MSNBC political analyst Lawrence O'Donnell. On May 20, 2007,[1] Norah and Tracy (owner of D.C. restaurant, Chef Geoff's) became the parents of twins, whom they named Grace and Henry.[2] Their third child, daughter Riley Norah Tracy, was born on July 5, 2008; O'Donnell noted that her daughter's first name had been suggested by Tim Russert, who died three weeks prior to Riley's birth.[3]
Awards
O'Donnell won the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Breaking News Coverage for the Dateline NBC story "DC In Crisis," which aired on the night of September 11, 2001. Ms. O'Donnell seems to allow a liberal left-leaning philosophy to perhaps unfairly attack those who lean to the right.
Norah O'Donnell was also named Keith Olbermann's "Worst Person In the World" on the November 18, 2009 episode of "Countdown" for badgering a 15 year old girl during the course of an interview that was, ostensibly, about interviewing average Americans waiting in line for an autographed copy of Sarah Palin's book "Going Rogue".
It should be noted that with pre-prepared notes in hand to debate a 15 year old girl Norah O'Donnell showed more preparation for that interview than she ever did with any Democratic candidate for state or federal office. Her interview was highly criticized by Glenn Beck.[4]Ms. O'Donnell hopes to top her on air performance by debating 1st graders at Washington D.C. private schools such as St. Alban's and Sidwell Friends about the existence of Santa Claus.
References
- ^ O'Donnell. Posted February 24, 2008. Accessed January 22, 2009.
- ^ Lynch, Lorrie (2007-09-02), "Who's News: Norah O'Donnell", USA Weekend
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://www.washingtonflyer.com/article/2008/November_December/Special%20Reporter
- ^ http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200911190016