Ann Curry

In her three-hour interview, Ann Curry talks about her childhood, and the impact her parents had on her worldview and her eventual career path, in particular her father’s advice to pick a career that would allow her to “be of service” to others. She discusses studying journalism at the University of Oregon and how a post-college internship at KTVL in Medford, OR led to her being hired as that station’s first female reporter. She talks about other local news positions she held and what she learned from working in local markets, and how she came to be hired by NBC News in New York. Curry touches on some of the most important and impactful stories she covered while at NBC News, including the war in Kosovo, the genocide in Darfur, climate change, and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. She also discusses major interviews she did for NBC News with world leaders, including Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Benazir Bhutto, as well as one of her favorite interviews, with Maya Angelou. She talks about her time as news anchor on Today, as well as her move to co-anchor of the show. Curry shares her thoughts on what makes a successful interview, her guiding principles in the stories she covers, the then-current state of journalism, and advice for aspiring journalists. She concludes with a discussion of her then-current projects, her proudest career achievements, and how she would like to be remembered. Jenni Matz conducted the interview on March 28, 2019 in New York, NY.