Natalie Pasquarella has natural warmth that informs her work as a reporter for WNBC

Natalie Pasquarella's profession? Human Being.

She does have a pretty good side gig, though.

As anchor of the 4 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m. (sometimes) and 11 p.m. daily newscasts on 4 New York on WNBC, she is a welcome guest, each night, in 6 million homes in the tri-state area.

She's gotten to cover the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, the 2015 visit of Pope Francis, the 2016 presidential debates at Hofstra University, the 2017 inauguration of Donald Trump, and the annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. She has also produced, as an anchor at WSOC-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina, investigative pieces on human trafficking and heroin, and interviewed then-president Barack Obama.

Her talent as anchor, producer and journalist may derive from another, even rarer, talent. Pasquarella has an odd knack — for a reporter — of seeing the men and women she interacts with as people. Not "gets." Not "stories." "Fellow-passengers to the grave," as Charles Dickens memorably said in A Christmas Carol. "Not another race of creatures bound on other journeys."

"There was a veteran reporter in Charlotte who told me once: 'Remember, we're people first,'" says Pasquarella, a Northern Valley resident since 2016.

Her viewers sense that niceness about her. So do her colleagues. "Natalie is one of the hardest working, kindest, most capable broadcast journalists in the business," says Chuck Scarborough, her co-anchor on NBC's 6 p.m. news broadcast. "And she's a wonderful friend."

Being human, being nice, isn't always natural in a business that puts a premium on being aggressive. "This is an intense industry, in terms of storytelling and getting the story," says Pasquarella, who has won four New York Emmys, and recently won (201) Magazine's Best of Bergen award for Favorite Bergen TV/Radio personality (she was on the cover of the March issue). "Because when you're a young, hungry reporter, you get in The Zone. You're out on the 'story.' I always try to keep that in mind: 'Remember, we're people first.' The most important thing is the community, and the people we're covering. That always resonated with me."

That's not only the way to be a first-class human being. It's also the way to be a first-class journalist. Because people who will not interact with a newshound, sniffing aggressively for a scoop, will often talk to a pleasant, low-key person — a person like themselves — who is just asking questions.

Chance meeting

That's how, for instance, she just happened to luck into an interview with no less than the Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the established Church in England. She wasn't pushing for it. It just happened. "I look and I see a man in a suit standing next to another man in a suit," she recalls. "I said, 'He looks familiar.'"

It was Sept. 12, 2022. Charles III was addressing Parliament for the first time as king. It was a momentous occasion: There was a new sovereign, the U.K. had just lost a previous and beloved one, and the future was uncertain.

Pasquarella had crossed Westminster Bridge with her cameraman, heading towards Parliament for some man-in-the-street interviews. That's when she saw a man she almost recognized — but not quite. "I had my backpack on my back and my sneakers on," she says. "And I threw my heels on. That's how fast you have to think on your feet. So I basically said, 'Hello, I work with NBC in New York. This is my photojournalist Dave. Were you by any chance in Parliament?' And then I realized — oh, my — that's the Archbishop of Canterbury. I said, 'Would you mind? Could we get a quick five minutes? Just you speaking on, you know, your relationship with the queen, how you feel about the king taking over?'"

The archbishop, it would seem, was disarmed. Perhaps the most powerful clergyman in the U.K. is not used to people walking up and saying hi. "He was gracious," Pasquarella says. "He chatted with us for five minutes. That's a long time when it's an unplanned interview."

Doctors call that a bedside manner. What reporters call it is not recorded — perhaps because it's not so common in the profession. "Treat people how you want to be treated," she says. "I feel it's important we learn that early on."

Day in the life

Pasquarella's job as a human being is inextricably wound up with her job as a reporter. So much so that, on a typical day, it's hard to make out where one ends and the other begins. Her family life and her professional life are a synchronous dance.

She gets up, typically, at about 8:10 a.m. "I go to bed late," she says. She'll take a quick glance at the news feed to make sure one of the royals isn't expecting or the Earth hasn't gone off its axis. Then oatmeal. "My husband will help me with the breakfast," she says. "He's more day-side than I am, so when he's in town he'll help me with the kids in the morning."

The kids are Jamin, 5 — named after his dad — and Jada, 3. "My daughter is still half-day, which is great, because I get that time with her when I pick her up," she says. "But my son, being 5 now, he is a full-day. So we have that time together in the morning when we get ready for school. Any projects, any little show-and-tell they have to bring in. And then I really cherish that little car ride to school, because that's my time with both of them — especially my son."

At 9, she'll dig into the day's news stories for perhaps a half-hour over coffee. Then she'll call her mom, call her sister, perhaps go to the gym (Impact Zone in Norwood). Midday, she'll pick up her daughter, have lunch, put her down for her nap. "That's kind of our time," she says.

Then she'll shower, get dressed, and drive across the GWB to 30 Rock. Jamin, the 5-year-old, will get picked up later. "I'm at work by 2:30," she says. "Then it's all systems go." She gets her hair done, does her own makeup. She does her promo for her 4 p.m. newscast with David Ushery. She touches base with her producers, reads her script. Then, it's showtime — from 4 to 5.

That's the first lap.

She then immediately preps for the next broadcast, with Chuck Scarborough, at 6 p.m. Which is followed, Wednesday through Friday, by yet another broadcast, at 7. Break for dinner. FaceTime the kids goodnight. At 9:20 p.m., promo the 11 p.m. news. And then, at 11 p.m., back before the cameras once more.

"It's busy, but you know what? It's easy when you have an awesome team," she says. "I work with the best team. Truly everybody here cares about the stories we're putting out there, and everybody gives 100%. “I mean, I'm working with David Ushery, Chuck Scarborough, Janice Huff, our team out in the field every day. They are the best of the best. That makes it easy."

Moving on up

It's a big leap — growing up in Ohio, learning her craft in the urban South, and then landing in the biggest, most prestigious news market in the country. Yet the part of North Jersey where she's lived since 2016 is not so different from her hometown of Steubenville, Ohio.

Both have produced larger-than-life celebrities: If we've got Sinatra and John Travolta, they've got Dean Martin and Jimmy the Greek. More importantly, this part of the Garden State, for all its asphalt and infrastructure, is still surprisingly small-scale and intimate in places. She appreciates that. "I just felt a small town vibe in all these little towns that connect to each other in New Jersey," she says. "You drive five minutes, you're in a different town. I really feel the people here are warm, and I love the school that our kids go to. It's so family-friendly."

She's friendly with several families, in particular. "I am lucky to have two good friends and fellow Moms who are my neighbors in Bergen County too," she says. "Both Jen Maxfield and Sarah Wallace are great examples of excellent journalists and mothers making it all happen while still giving back to their communities."

Perhaps that's why she felt OK about inviting a million families into her home. During the worst of the COVID epidemic she, like many other on-air personalities, was broadcasting from the spare room.

"Yeah, that was interesting," she says. "My setup was in our guest room. I would say it went fairly well, because we had a pretty good setup. We had the cameras hooked up, but we didn't have anybody running it. We had the blue backdrop to make it look, you know, similar to the station. And then we basically turned it on ourselves. We put it into focus. We could talk to the control room. I had an earpiece."

Hard on the kids, though. Having mommy in the next room, at home but unavailable, is not easy to explain to a 3-year-old (Jamin would have been about that age then). "He would run down the hall during the broadcast," she says.

The pandemic was, of course, a great news story. Great, as in terrible. Heartbreaking. One of the things that, as a reporter, she looks back on with pride (she shared in the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for the network's COVID coverage).

"You felt for all our healthcare workers and all those families that lost loved ones, and it just seemed at some point like, you know, a never-ending thing," she says. "That's why I love my job — because we get to see the resiliency of the people, and we get to show the community. Luckily, we made it out and there was a light at the end of the tunnel. What really felt amazing was watching our healthcare workers and emergency responders and police and so many families going through what they went through."

It was a busy time: she was also covering the George Floyd social justice protests, and — on a happier note — the 2021 Hometown Heroes ticker-tape parade that honored the COVID first responders. "To me, that was so joyous," she says "We were all just able to thank the city, all the workers who sacrificed so much to keep us safe."

Hometown buffet

Though she was in her own home more than ever during the pandemic years, Pasquarella was also cut off — as all of us were, during the height of lockdown — from her community. That was hard. She leads an active life in this area. She's been involved in local charity work with March of Dimes, The Community Food Bank of New Jersey, and the Jericho Project (aid for the homeless). The family also has some favorite local spots where they do their shopping, recreating, eating out and ordering in.

You might find Pasquarella, in her off hours, at Mixology boutique in Livingston, or The Shops at Riverside, Hackensack (Fountain Spa is a favorite). Mania Hair Studio, Park Ridge, is her go-to stylist.

For a family outing, there's always Van Saun County Park in Paramus. "I know Van Saun Park is not undiscovered, but it's just the best, we love it," she says. "The zoo. The train. The carousel. And recently my sister was in, at Christmas time in December, and we went with my nieces to the Winter Wonderland. It was really fun."

Food? They might head for Blue Moon Mexican Restaurant in Englewood, or Lolita's Mexican Cantina in Westwood if they're feeling south-of-the border-ish — or Dimora Ristorante & Bar, Norwood, if Pasquarella wants to celebrate her Italian roots. For cooking at home: B&M Meat Market, Park Ridge. "Great cuts of meat, and his sides are really good, too," she says. And let's not forget dessert. "I'm into my sweets," Pasquarella says (you wouldn't know it from looking at her). Patisserie Florentine in Closter, Keremo Cakes in Cresskill, and La Promenade in Tenafly are where she gets her cravings satisfied.

Then there's pizza. Which for Pasquarella is personal. "Funny enough, my dad had a pizza shop when I was a kid in Ohio," she says (she was the oldest of four kids). And — though this may be news to metro-area pizza snobs who insist that the only good pies are in a narrow belt running between Trenton and Canarsie — the pizza there was good, too. "In Ohio, they have this square pizza," she says. "We like thin squares. I guess it's kind of how we grew up. That's my go-to thing."

Carmine & Ray's Pizza in Closter does a thin Margherita-style pizza that reminds her a bit of home. "It's easier for my kids to eat," she says. (They generally order half-pepperoni). Rudy's Ristorante & Pizzeria, Closter, is pretty good too. But, Pasquarella admits, she's pretty much a sucker for any pizza. "You put it in the oven with sauce and pepperoni, I'm gonna eat it," she says. "I'm not snooty with my pizza."

Beginnings

Steubenville gave her a taste for pizza. It also gave her a taste for reporting.

One of her formative moments, she says, is when the D.A.R.E. program came to her school to talk about substance abuse — with a news team in tow. Pasquarella, then a fifth grader, was interviewed by a local reporter named Lisa Kick. "I remember her interviewing me, and I thought, 'That'd be a really great job,' " she says.

That was followed, several years later, by another run-in with the press. She had come to New York with her high school drama club. In the midst of taking in shows, they had an encounter with WCBS-TV's Cindy Hsu. Hsu, it turned out, had also spent part of her career in Steubenville. "So when I chatted with her, it was kind of like, 'Keep in touch,'" Pasquarella says. "She gave me advice on an internship." (After graduating from Kent State University, Pasquarella did intern at NY1 News in New York).

Like most careers, Pasquarella's started locally. Steubenville — specifically WTOV-TV — was home turf, the perfect place for her to make her bow as a news anchor, reporter and producer. She knew the ins and outs. And she didn't have to master any of the tough pronunciations for place names in her current vocabulary, like "Secaucus" and "Ho-Ho-Kus."

Later, at Charlotte's WSOC-TV, she developed quite a following among local viewers. And she learned what all TV personalities discover: People who see you on TV think they know you. "Long-time viewers think they can tell you anything," Pasquarella says.

She recalls, with special delight, one message on her answering machine. "I had one woman call me while I was in Charlotte, and she had this whole conversation about how we're your biggest fans and we think the world of you on the station, but we just want to mention: your eyebrows are so expressive. Maybe you could just take those back a bit? I never laughed so hard."

Bite of the Apple

These days, of course, Pasquarella is almost a natural-born tri-stater. She can be distinguished from the natives only in her congenital inability to pick a baseball team. "I do like both teams," she says (luckily, she wasn't around for the 2000 subway series). "I picked the Mets at the time I was moving here because I felt the pressure to pick a team, but I really root for both. Is that an annoying trait?"

And she still loves Broadway. "You can put Funny Girl next on my list," she says. "And I thought Hamilton was just phenomenal. The original cast — that was next level. I typically like musicals where there's a lot of dancing involved. They kind of transport you. And I know there's a lot of Jersey talent that ends up on Broadway. That's awesome."

Over the past eight years, Pasquarella has gotten to know New York. And millions of New Yorkers have gotten to know Pasquarella. Perhaps better than they think. Not many of her viewers can have been aware, five years ago, that they were witness to a very private moment at the very end of one of her broadcasts.

"I felt something odd at the end of the newscast," she recalls. "I kind of waited until everybody left the studio. Our audio staffer was there, and I said, 'I think my water broke.' My executive producer Keith, he helped me downstairs, and I had a car waiting outside. So the driver takes me and the producer to the hospital — Lenox Hill — and then he goes back and gets my husband. And the rest is history."

There's nothing more human than giving birth to another human. But then, humanity is what Pasquarella's viewers have come to expect. That's why she has so many of them. "I feel honored that people trust NBC 4 New York for their coverage," she says. "We have a really big responsibility. We're trusted. So I take that seriously."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Natalie Pasquarella, TV reporter, makes news in Bergen County