It seems hard to believe but Deborah Norville has been a broadcast journalist for more than three decades. She remains as passionate and energetic as she was the first time she ever stood in front of a camera. With Norville at the helm of Inside Edition for the past 15 years, the show stands alone as the country's top rated syndicated newsmagazine. Norville can take a lot of the credit for the on-going and unrivaled success of Inside Edition. Her journalistic credentials open doors that otherwise would remain locked. Her natural charm and grace put interview subjects at ease – no matter how delicate the story might be.
This veteran broadcaster is willing to do just about anything to get the story. In 2010, the FAA granted unprecedented access to Inside Edition to allow Norville to report on life for flight attendants in a post 9-11 world. Her training ranged from how to subdue an unruly passenger to how to evacuate the plane in an emergency. It is one of the latest and not always glamorous stories Norville has reported for Inside Edition. She has picked produce in the blazing California sun, collected tolls in a New Jersey tollbooth, sold peanuts at a Phillies game and toiled as a dishwasher at a New York City diner.
Norville made national headlines by spending—and reporting on—five days as an inmate in a North Carolina penal institution known as the "toughest jail in America." The story won Norville two national awards for reporting excellence. In 2001, following the events of September 11, Norville flew with the 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard, as they patrolled New York City airspace. She also gathered victims of anthrax poisoning and those who lost loved ones at the World Trade Center. On a lighter note, Norville also took viewers inside the recording industry by reinventing herself as a rock diva for a day—recording a song, shooting a video and tackling a glamour shoot for a CD cover. Norville also went "behind-the-scenes" at a Times Square movie theatre to sell popcorn and soda to give viewers an amusing look at a job we think is easy. It isn't! Deborah has been at the forefront of every major historic event for Inside Edition, including the terror attack of 9/11, President Reagan's funeral, and the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
Norville is also a best-selling and prolific author. Her most recent book, The Power of Respect: Benefit from the Most Forgotten Element of Success (2009, Thomas Nelson) was inspired by rampant disrespect making headlines. Norville highlighted how respect could be used as a tool to improve relationships, school performance and employee productivity. Power of Respect came on the heels of the New York Times Best-Seller Thank You Power: Making the Science of Gratitude Work for YOU (2007, Thomas Nelson). This book underscored how the power of gratitude could be harnessed to provide users with improved cognitive function, greater energy, and higher optimism. Among Norville's other titles are Back on Track: How to Straighten Out Your Life When It Throws You a Curve (1997, Simon & Schuster), a motivational self-help book, as well as I Don't Want To Sleep Tonight and I Can Fly (1999, 2001, Golden Books), two pop-up children's books.
A lifelong crafter and seamstress, Norville has realized a lifelong dream with the debut of the Deborah Norville Yarn Collection, a line of high-quality yarns for knit and crochet enthusiasts. Sold in top craft chains including Jo-Ann Stores, the yarn has proved hugely popular, selling more than one ton of sock yarn per month. Norville's Knit with Deborah Norville (2010 Leisure Arts) book features her yarn line in a variety of classic knit patterns.
A two-time Emmy® Award winner, Norville joined Inside Edition from CBS News, where she anchored America Tonight and reported for 48 Hours, Street Stories and CBS Evening News. Prior to working at CBS, she hosted the nationally syndicated "Deborah Norville Radio Show," which was aired via the ABC Radio network. Norville is a former co-host of NBC'S Today, a position that followed her tenure as anchor of NBC News at Sunrise and news anchor of Today. She briefly returned to NBC News to anchor the primetime Deborah Norville Tonight on MSNBC, while simultaneously anchoring Inside Edition.
Norville began her reporting career while still a college student at the University of Georgia, first as a reporter and, later, weekend anchor for WAGA-TV in Atlanta. Subsequently, she worked for WMAQ-TV, the NBC-owned station in Chicago as a reporter and anchor.
An active volunteer, Norville is a Director for the Broadcasters of America Foundation, and has served on the Board of Directors for the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York, Rita Hayworth (Alzheimer's) Gala and the Women's Committee of the Central Park Conservancy. She also has been National Celebrity Spokesperson for the Mother's March of Dimes.
A sought-after lecturer, Norville is a regular presence at the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year conference among other venues. She is married and the mother of three. She can be reached via her Web site: www.DeborahNorville.com