Lynne Russell is an American journalist and author. She was the first woman to solo anchor a prime time network nightly newscast as the host of CNN Headline News from 1983 to 2001, as well as six years as co-host of ''The Week in Review'' with Bob Cain on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

Early life and education

Russell was born in

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was original ...

and raised around the United States, being the daughter of a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

officer. Russell graduated from

Manzano High School Manzano High School is a public high school located in northeast Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is part of the Albuquerque Public Schools system. The current principal is Rachel Vigil. History While still sophomores, Manzano's first senior class ...

in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She attended the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

, where she majored in Nursing.

Career

Television and radio

Before joining ''CNN Headline News'' in 1983, Russell anchored the evening news on

KENS KENS (channel 5) is a television station in San Antonio, Texas, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on Fredericksburg Road in northwest San Antonio, near the South Texas Medical Center, w ...

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

in 1980, where she also was an investigative and courthouse reporter. Previously, she served a year as a news anchor and military correspondent for

KHON-TV KHON-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, serving the Hawaiian Islands as an affiliate of Fox and The CW. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KHII-TV (channel 9). Both stati ...

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

. From 1978 to 1979 Russell anchored and reported at

WTLV-TV WTLV (channel 12) is a television station in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Orange Park–licensed ABC affiliate WJXX (channel 25). Both stations share studios on East Adams Str ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. Also, from 1971 to 1978 she was Program Director, as well as anchor and host, of a four-hour weekday morning news and interview program at WKAT in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. Russell was the first recipient of the Russell P. Jandoli ''Excellence in Journalism Award'' presented by St. Bonaventure University of

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY i ...

. Russell lived in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

for several years, working for CBC Television beginning in 2006 and then at radio station

CFRB CFRB (1010 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West. CFRB is a ...

from 2008 to 2010.

Private investigator and law enforcement

Russell is a licensed private investigator who worked as a detective. She also is a first degree black belt in Choi Kwang-Do, and has worked as a bodyguard and Fulton County Deputy Sheriff in the Reserve division.

Author

Russell's first book was ''How to Win Friends, Kick A** and Influence People: A Memoir''. Published on November 30, 1999, she shared her life story, including her global travels in her youth and her experiences as a private investigator and bodyguard. Russell has written two novels in her PJ Santini series, ''Hell on Heels'' and ''Heels of Fortune''.

Survived shootout

She and her husband Chuck de Caro were on a cross-country trip from

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and were spending the night of June 30, 2015 at a

Motel 6 Motel 6 is a privately owned hospitality company with a chain of budget motels in the United States and Canada. Motel 6 also operates Studio 6, a chain of Apartment hotel, extended-stay hotels. The hotel brand is owned by The Blackstone Group's ...

in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when an armed man forced his way into their room. De Caro was shot three times; he returned fire, mortally wounding the intruder. De Caro was taken to a hospital for two weeks and recovered. De Caro and Russell filed a lawsuit against

and related parties on October 13, 2015 for alleged negligent and reckless security resulting in severe injury, negligent infliction of emotional distress, loss of consortium and Unfair Trade Practices Act violations to motel operators and employees. The suit was dismissed with prejudice on October 18, 2017.Caselookup
''New Mexico Courts'', 2017-10-18

References

External links

*
Photos of Lynne Russell anchoring at Headline News

Lynne Russell's Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Lynne Living people American expatriates in Canada Canadian television news anchors Canadian radio personalities American television news anchors People from Orange, New Jersey Canadian women journalists American women radio journalists CNN people American women television journalists Year of birth missing (living people)