For over three decades, Erin Moriarty has been a name synonymous with investigative journalism. Her work on 48 Hours has shaped public understanding of criminal justice and highlighted stories that not only captivate but make a difference. In a conversation filled with reflections on her career, Erin opened up about the origins of her work, her thoughts on the 48 Hours Season 37 premiere, and the new podcast Murder in the Orange Grove, where she re-examines the troubling case of Crosley Green.
The Early Days of 48 Hours: Fashion, Law, and Immersive Reporting When Erin first joined 48 Hours, she wasn’t expecting it to become the home for her storytelling that it did. Her first assignment wasn’t about law or crime — it was about fashion. She recalls with a chuckle, “As much as I love to look at fashion, I am not a fashionista.
” At the time, Erin was the consumer legal reporter for CBS Morning News, which made the fashion-centric request seem out of place. Yet, Erin knew how to find the story within the assignment. She pitched an idea about a designer who lost the rights to her name, turning a superficial subject into a narrative rooted in consumer and legal issues.
The story resonated, and from there, Erin became a staple correspondent for the show. What Erin didn’t expect was how immersive the work on 48 Hours would be. She explained how, in those early days, the team would spend 48 hours (or more) fully entrenched in their subjects’ lives without the luxury of p.