Deborah Norville
Encyclopedia
Deborah Norville is an American
television broadcaster and journalist. Since 1995 she has been host of the syndicated American television program Inside Edition
. She earlier hosted Today on NBC
, substitute anchored both the NBC Nightly News
and the weekend CBS Evening News
, and was a host and correspondent for two CBS News
magazine programs.
She has received two Emmy Award
s for her television work, the first while at NBC News for coverage of a democratic uprising in Romania, and the second for work on CBS's 48 Hours covering floods on the Mississippi River.
. She graduated from the University of Georgia
in Athens
with a degree in journalism.
, the network's early morning newscast, which aired just prior to the Today program. Throughout the late 1980s she was seen on Today as a regular substitute for host Bryant Gumbel
, co-host Jane Pauley
, or news anchor John Palmer
.
On September 5, 1989, Norville replaced Palmer at the Today newsdesk and he assumed her previous role on Sunrise. She also began substituting for Tom Brokaw
on NBC Nightly News
. Shortly after Norville's appointment as Todays news anchor, the decision was made to feature Norville as an unofficial third host. Whereas Palmer had read the news from a desk separate from where Gumbel and Pauley sat, Norville was seated alongside the program's hosts at the opening and closing of every show.
news assignment—which would debut on July 17, 1990 as Real Life with Jane Pauley
. NBC announced that Norville would become co-host. In January 1990, the new anchor team of Bryant Gumbel and Deborah Norville, minus Pauley, debuted with disastrous results. Ratings
for the program began to plummet. Critics felt that Gumbel and Norville lacked chemistry and many loyal viewers began turning to rival ABC
's Good Morning America
.
By June 1990, NBC announced that Joe Garagiola, former Major League Baseball
player, game show host, Major League Baseball on NBC announcer, and Today contributor from 1967–1973, would join Norville as a second co-host alongside Bryant Gumbel. Also, CBS
newswoman Faith Daniels
would become the program's news anchor—a position which was still unfilled since Norville became co-host. Finally, Katie Couric
assumed the role of National Correspondent. Garagiola, Daniels and Couric were added to the show during the June 11, 1990 broadcast.
Ratings continued to decline and by the end of 1990, Today, the longtime dominant morning news/talk program, was in second place behind GMA. By the outbreak of the Gulf War
in 1991, Norville's role as co-host was gradually minimized. Today aired special editions of the program called America at War, with Gumbel anchoring most of the show alone. Norville left the show for maternity leave in February 1991. It was announced that Katie Couric would substitute as co-host during Norville's absence. Ratings for the program began to rise. By April 1991, it was announced that Norville would not return to Today and that Couric had been named the program's co-host. Norville, it was disclosed, would continue to be paid in accordance with her contract, although she would no longer appear on any NBC News
programs.
had asked to be released from her contract with the ABC Radio Network in late 1991. Deborah Norville was hired to replace her with a radio show called "Deborah Norville - From Her Home To Yours" which launched in September 1992. The program was cancelled after one year.
as a correspondent for Street Stories
, a prime time
newsmagazine hosted by CBS veteran Ed Bradley
. Norville was later tapped to anchor Sunday editions of the CBS Evening News
on a rotating basis and also substitute anchored on the weeknight edition of that program. By the summer of 1994, Street Stories had been cancelled and CBS introduced a summer newsmagazine series called America Tonight
co-anchored by Norville and newswoman Dana King
.
In 1995 Norville, still a news correspondent for CBS, was hired to replace Bill O'Reilly
, later of Fox News Channel
, as the host of the highly popular syndicated
news and entertainment program Inside Edition
, a position she still holds today.
In 2004, MSNBC
announced that Norville would anchor a prime time interview program on that network while remaining at Inside Edition. An arrangement was orchestrated in which Norville was prevented from appearing as an anchor for NBC News—of which MSNBC is a division—so as not to confuse viewers who identified her with Inside Edition. As a result, if breaking news had developed either during the course of her show or earlier in the day, she was unable to cover the story by speaking with NBC correspondents unless they were featured as guests on the program.
While at MSNBC in late March 2004, Norville presented as genuine a satirical article entitled "Study: 58 Percent Of U.S. Exercise Televised" from The Onion
, a parody newspaper.
Norville conducted some high profile interviews on the show—including one with her successor on Today, Katie Couric—and also addressed some controversial topics including the debate revolving around Mel Gibson
's The Passion of the Christ
and Mormon
polygamy
. During one of the broadcasts on the Passion controversy, Norville disclosed on the air that she was a born-again Christian, having accepted Christ
as her savior at age 15. Though Norville's religious identity had been reported previously, it was the first time she had ever made such an announcement on live television. By February 2005, Norville announced she would leave MSNBC while continuing to anchor the syndicated Inside Edition.
On November 14, 2008, Deborah Norville was on the Fox game show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Norville was eliminated at the $100,000 level, stating, "I may be an Emmy Award winning journalist, and a best selling author, but I am not smarter than a 5th grader."
Norville is the host of the online talk show, New Way RA, to help raise awareness about rheumatoid arthritis
. The disease contributed to her mother's death.
On April 19 and April 20, 2011, she filled in for Nancy Grace
on the latter's HLN
program.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television broadcaster and journalist. Since 1995 she has been host of the syndicated American television program Inside Edition
Inside Edition
Inside Edition is a thirty-minute American television syndicated news program, first aired on CBS on October 9, 1988. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair, but now more closely resembles a condensed version of breakfast television, exclusively with pre-recorded...
. She earlier hosted Today on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, substitute anchored both the NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
and the weekend CBS Evening News
CBS Evening News
CBS Evening News is the flagship nightly television news program of the American television network CBS. The network has broadcast this program since 1948, and has used the CBS Evening News title since 1963....
, and was a host and correspondent for two CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
magazine programs.
She has received two Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s for her television work, the first while at NBC News for coverage of a democratic uprising in Romania, and the second for work on CBS's 48 Hours covering floods on the Mississippi River.
Early life
Norville was born in Dalton, GeorgiaDalton, Georgia
Dalton is a city in Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It is the county seat of Whitfield County and the principal city of the Dalton, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of both Murray and Whitfield counties. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 33,128...
. She graduated from the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
in Athens
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
with a degree in journalism.
NBC years
After serving as singer and an anchor for local television stations first in Atlanta and then Chicago, in 1987, Norville, at age 28, was named anchor of NBC News at SunriseNBC News at Sunrise
NBC News at Sunrise was an early morning news program produced by NBC News from 1983 to 1999. The program featured the top news headlines of the morning, sports and weather reports, and business segments. Many of the program's anchors also appeared on The Today Show...
, the network's early morning newscast, which aired just prior to the Today program. Throughout the late 1980s she was seen on Today as a regular substitute for host Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Charles Gumbel is an American television journalist and sportscaster. He is best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC's The Today Show. He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel.-Early life:...
, co-host Jane Pauley
Jane Pauley
Margaret Jane Pauley is an American television journalist, and has been involved in news reporting since 1975...
, or news anchor John Palmer
John Palmer (TV journalist)
John Spencer Palmer is a former news correspondent for NBC News. He worked for the network over the course of 40 years, first from 1962 to 1990; and again from 1994 until his retirement in 2002...
.
On September 5, 1989, Norville replaced Palmer at the Today newsdesk and he assumed her previous role on Sunrise. She also began substituting for Tom Brokaw
Tom Brokaw
Thomas John "Tom" Brokaw is an American television journalist and author best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He is the author of The Greatest Generation and other books and the recipient of numerous awards and honors...
on NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
. Shortly after Norville's appointment as Todays news anchor, the decision was made to feature Norville as an unofficial third host. Whereas Palmer had read the news from a desk separate from where Gumbel and Pauley sat, Norville was seated alongside the program's hosts at the opening and closing of every show.
As co-host of Today
On October 27, 1989, Jane Pauley announced after 13 years on Today that she would be leaving the program at the end of the year to pursue a prime timePrime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
news assignment—which would debut on July 17, 1990 as Real Life with Jane Pauley
Real Life with Jane Pauley
Real Life with Jane Pauley was a newsmagazine television program aired in the United States by NBC from 1990 to 1991.Real Life with Jane Pauley seems to have been presented as an answer to both critics and members of the general public to the frequently-repeated viewpoint that "television news...
. NBC announced that Norville would become co-host. In January 1990, the new anchor team of Bryant Gumbel and Deborah Norville, minus Pauley, debuted with disastrous results. Ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
for the program began to plummet. Critics felt that Gumbel and Norville lacked chemistry and many loyal viewers began turning to rival ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
.
By June 1990, NBC announced that Joe Garagiola, former Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player, game show host, Major League Baseball on NBC announcer, and Today contributor from 1967–1973, would join Norville as a second co-host alongside Bryant Gumbel. Also, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
newswoman Faith Daniels
Faith Daniels
Faith Daniels became nationally known for her role in anchoring some of America's most popular news and talk show programs....
would become the program's news anchor—a position which was still unfilled since Norville became co-host. Finally, Katie Couric
Katie Couric
Katherine Anne "Katie" Couric is an American journalist and author. She serves as Special Correspondent for ABC News, contributing to ABC World News, Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America, This Week and primetime news specials...
assumed the role of National Correspondent. Garagiola, Daniels and Couric were added to the show during the June 11, 1990 broadcast.
Ratings continued to decline and by the end of 1990, Today, the longtime dominant morning news/talk program, was in second place behind GMA. By the outbreak of the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
in 1991, Norville's role as co-host was gradually minimized. Today aired special editions of the program called America at War, with Gumbel anchoring most of the show alone. Norville left the show for maternity leave in February 1991. It was announced that Katie Couric would substitute as co-host during Norville's absence. Ratings for the program began to rise. By April 1991, it was announced that Norville would not return to Today and that Couric had been named the program's co-host. Norville, it was disclosed, would continue to be paid in accordance with her contract, although she would no longer appear on any NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
programs.
Radio
Sally Jessy RaphaelSally Jessy Raphaël
Sally Lowenthal , better known as Sally Jessy Raphael, is an American talk show host, known for the eponymous Sally talk show she hosted for two decades.-Early years:...
had asked to be released from her contract with the ABC Radio Network in late 1991. Deborah Norville was hired to replace her with a radio show called "Deborah Norville - From Her Home To Yours" which launched in September 1992. The program was cancelled after one year.
Return to television
In late 1993, Norville was hired by CBS NewsCBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
as a correspondent for Street Stories
Street Stories
Street Stories is the seventh studio album by Houston rapper Lil' Keke. It was released on July 22, 2003. It features a guest called 1da Boy, Slim Thug and the group Boyz In Blue.-Track listing:...
, a prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
newsmagazine hosted by CBS veteran Ed Bradley
Ed Bradley
Edward Rudolph "Ed" Bradley, Jr. was an American journalist, best known for twenty-six years of award-winning work on the CBS News television program 60 Minutes...
. Norville was later tapped to anchor Sunday editions of the CBS Evening News
CBS Evening News
CBS Evening News is the flagship nightly television news program of the American television network CBS. The network has broadcast this program since 1948, and has used the CBS Evening News title since 1963....
on a rotating basis and also substitute anchored on the weeknight edition of that program. By the summer of 1994, Street Stories had been cancelled and CBS introduced a summer newsmagazine series called America Tonight
America Tonight
America Tonight was a late-night news program on CBS. It aired on weeknights at 11:30pm ET from October 1, 1990 to March 29, 1991. It was hosted by Charles Kuralt and Lesley Stahl...
co-anchored by Norville and newswoman Dana King
Dana King
Dana King, born in Cleveland, is an Emmy Award-winning American broadcast journalist currently serving as anchor for San Francisco CBS Affiliate KPIX....
.
In 1995 Norville, still a news correspondent for CBS, was hired to replace Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (commentator)
William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. is an American television host, author, syndicated columnist and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel, which is the most watched cable news television program on American television...
, later of Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, as the host of the highly popular syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
news and entertainment program Inside Edition
Inside Edition
Inside Edition is a thirty-minute American television syndicated news program, first aired on CBS on October 9, 1988. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair, but now more closely resembles a condensed version of breakfast television, exclusively with pre-recorded...
, a position she still holds today.
In 2004, MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
announced that Norville would anchor a prime time interview program on that network while remaining at Inside Edition. An arrangement was orchestrated in which Norville was prevented from appearing as an anchor for NBC News—of which MSNBC is a division—so as not to confuse viewers who identified her with Inside Edition. As a result, if breaking news had developed either during the course of her show or earlier in the day, she was unable to cover the story by speaking with NBC correspondents unless they were featured as guests on the program.
While at MSNBC in late March 2004, Norville presented as genuine a satirical article entitled "Study: 58 Percent Of U.S. Exercise Televised" from The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
, a parody newspaper.
Norville conducted some high profile interviews on the show—including one with her successor on Today, Katie Couric—and also addressed some controversial topics including the debate revolving around Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
's The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ is a 2004 American drama film directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...
and Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
. During one of the broadcasts on the Passion controversy, Norville disclosed on the air that she was a born-again Christian, having accepted Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
as her savior at age 15. Though Norville's religious identity had been reported previously, it was the first time she had ever made such an announcement on live television. By February 2005, Norville announced she would leave MSNBC while continuing to anchor the syndicated Inside Edition.
On November 14, 2008, Deborah Norville was on the Fox game show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? is a television game show format based on asking grade-school level questions to adults, hosted by Jeff Foxworthy...
Norville was eliminated at the $100,000 level, stating, "I may be an Emmy Award winning journalist, and a best selling author, but I am not smarter than a 5th grader."
Norville is the host of the online talk show, New Way RA, to help raise awareness about rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks synovial joints. The process produces an inflammatory response of the synovium secondary to hyperplasia of synovial cells, excess synovial fluid, and the development...
. The disease contributed to her mother's death.
On April 19 and April 20, 2011, she filled in for Nancy Grace
Nancy Grace
Nancy Ann Grace is an American legal commentator, television host, television journalist, and former prosecutor. She frequently discusses issues from what she describes as a victims' rights standpoint, with an outspoken style that has won her both praise and condemnation...
on the latter's HLN
HLN
HLN can refer to*HLN , a cable network formerly known as Headline News*The IATA airport code for Helena Regional Airport*The Horizon League Network—see Horizon League#Horizon League Network*The shorthand notation of Phenolphthalein...
program.
Personal life
Norville married Swedish businessman Karl Wellner in 1987; the couple has three children, Niki, Kyle, and Mikaela.Published work
Published works include:- Thank You Power : Making the Science of Gratitude Work for You, 2007
- The Power of Respect: Benefit from the Most Forgotten Element of Success, 2009
- Knit with Deborah Norville, 2009
- Back on Track: How to Straighten Out Your Life When It Throws You a Curve, 1997
- She has also written two children's books, I Don't Want to Sleep Tonight (Golden Books, 1999) and I Can Fly (Golden Books, 2001).
External links
- Deborah Norville on FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- Deborah Norville's blog and podcast site
- Norville's talk show about rheumatoid arthritis