Brooke Baldwin returns to UNC for J-School talk

Brooke Baldwin, a CNN anchor, will return to her collegiate roots today.

The UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication will host the journalist, a 2001 graduate of the school, to headline its Women in Media Leadership Series.

“It is a crazy, pinch-me, full-circle moment for me,” Baldwin said.

Baldwin, anchor of the afternoon news show “CNN Newsroom,” will speak at the Freedom Forum Conference Center at 5:30 p.m. today.

Baldwin will also attend a reception before the event in the lobby and Halls of Fame Room in Carroll Hall.

Journalism professor Charlie Tuggle, who worked with Baldwin during her time at UNC, said she was a standout student.

He said Baldwin’s drive and dedication allowed her to move through the ranks of “Carolina Week,” UNC’s student-run news show.

“Brooke came to us and she had what we call a fire in the belly — when you have someone like that, it’s just a matter of giving them the information,” Tuggle said.

Baldwin said she learned early on that a job as a reporter wouldn’t be easy, but she kept an open mind while taking classes at the journalism school.

“I learned what I was decent at, and then my senior year I totally threw myself into it. When I wasn’t at the J-School I was at a local TV station,” Baldwin said.

When she left UNC, Baldwin said she did not have a career plan.

Baldwin said when she lived in Atlanta after graduation, she would drive past the CNN headquarters hoping to be a part of such an incredible broadcasting network.

The first station she worked at was in Charlottesville, Va. at WVIR-TV, and she said she advanced quickly at the station.

Baldwin took her first job at CNN in 2008, taking the the time slot of a previous anchor.

“It is a dream to be here and I really do pinch myself every day,” Baldwin said.

In her time at CNN, Baldwin has covered breaking news such as the shooting in Newtown, Conn. and the 2012 U.S. presidential election.

She also anchored CNN’s global coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee with Piers Morgan.

Tuggle said he feels a sense of pride in his former student.

“One thing that makes me the most proud is that she has some natural abilities, the camera loves her, she has a great voice, she is hardworking and she is fair,” he said.

Senior Kiara Palmer said she has spent time watching Baldwin’s newscasts and was impressed.

“She emotes real emotion in her stories. You can be listening to her and know if it’s a sad story or a happy story,” she said.

In the past 12 years, Baldwin said she has only returned to UNC three times because of her demanding schedule.

“I am counting down the days until I get on that plane.”

university@dailytarheel.com