Robyne Robinson (born 1961 in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

) is an American television journalist and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

. She ran as a candidate for

Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota The lieutenant governor of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. State of Minnesota. Fifty individuals have held the office of lieutenant governor since statehood. The incumbent is Peggy Flanagan, a Democratic- ...

in 2010.

Biography

Robyne L. Robinson was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

as the younger of two daughters born to schoolteachers. She attended local area schools, graduating from Morgan Park Academy in 1979. Robyne began her professional career tracking news for WNDU-TV in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

. Later, she served as Military Affairs reporter for WVEC-TV in the

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada * Hampton, New Brunswick *Ha ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

area of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The Texas Association of Broadcasters honored her while working at WFAA-TV in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. At WFAA-TV she covered local politics, education and public affairs. While serving as the weekend anchor at WMAR-TV in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, she was awarded the Gannett-Paul Miller Fellowship for reporting Washington politics. For 20 years she was a reporter and then news anchor/co-anchor for Fox affiliate KMSP in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. and worked at

KMSP-TV KMSP-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, broadcasting the Fox network to the Twin Cities area. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetw ...

since 1990, when KMSP was independent Minnesota 9. On May 11, 2010, Robinson announced that she would leave KMSP and broadcasting. Her last day was May 26, 2010. On May 27, 2010, it was announced that Robinson would serve as the

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pr ...

Matt Entenza Matthew "Matt" Keating Entenza (born October 4, 1961) is a Minnesota lawyer and former politician who served six terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He served as House Minority Leader from 2003 to 2006. After leaving the legislature, ...

, a DFL candidate in the August 2010 Minnesota gubernatorial primary. She had not previously been a candidate for elective office.

Awards and recognition

* Hubert H. Humphrey Public Policy Fellow at the University of Minnesota * 2005 Upper Midwest Emmy for Best Anchor * Edward R. Murrow Award * St. Paul Companies' Pan-African Council Legacy Award * Media Allies Award, Minnesota Council of Non-Profits * Minneapolis NAACP Television Industry Award

Lieutenant Governor Run

On May 24, 2010, Robinson said in an interview that she had been asked to serve as the

of Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party gubernatorial candidate

. Robinson said she had not made up her mind yet, but that she was seriously considering it, as "any time you are potentially called to public service you need to think heavily about it." On May 27, 2010, the Entenza campaign announced that Robinson had accepted the offer. Robinson and Fox 9 were criticized for allowing Robinson to remain on air despite the offer, and also for not mentioning the offer during their newscast.Fox9 newscast dummies up on Robyne Robinson Lt. Gov bid
/ref> Robinson is the second Fox 9 News anchor to seek statewide office. Former U.S. Senator

Rod Grams Rodney Dwight Grams (February 4, 1948 – October 8, 2013) was an American politician and television news anchor who served in both the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. A local news anchor, Grams became well-known ...

worked as an anchor for the station before entering politics. The campaign ended on August 10, with Matt Entenza conceding as results started to come in.

References

External links

MPR interview 5/25/2010
*
Rox Minneapolis, Robyne's jewelry line
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Robyne People from Chicago 1961 births Living people African-American television personalities American television reporters and correspondents African-American people in Minnesota politics Women in Minnesota politics Minnesota Democrats Journalists from Illinois American women television journalists 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women