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| Birth Name(s) : Deborah Norville |
Date of Birth: N/A |
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Full Deborah Norville Biography
Deborah Norville (born August 8, 1958 in Dalton, Georgia) is an American television broadcaster and journalist. Since 1995, she has been host of the syndicated American television program Inside Edition. She 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.
By 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 Today's 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. Before long, gossip columns and media observers predicted that NBC would remove Jane Pauley from the program and replace her with Norville in an effort to improve the program's recently declining viewership by young women, the demographic most coveted by morning shows.
In September 1990, Norville announced that she and her husband were expecting a child in the following year. It was hoped that motherhood would help soften Norville's image as a too-pretty, too-icy newswoman, but her pregnancy announcement was essentially unnoticed by critics. At about the same time, NBC devised what it hoped would be solution to the growing unpopularity of the show. Though it had been rumored that Norville would be fired, NBC announced that she would remain in her position and that Joe Garagiola, former Major League Baseball player, game show host, Major League Baseball on NBC announcer, and Today contributor from 1969-1970, would join Norville as a 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 -- and little known news correspondent Katie Couric would become the program's first chief national correspondent.
The changes accomplished nothing in the way of stopping the ratings decline. By the end of 1990, Today, the longtime dominant program, was officially the second place morning show behind GMA, and most of the blame was pinned on Norville. By the outbreak of The Gulf War in 1991, Norville saw her role as co-host continually minimized. Today aired special editions of the program called America at War, with Gumbel anchoring most of the show alone. It was not uncommon for Norville not to even make an appearance until the two hour show's second half hour. In addition, she was directed not to initiate conversation on the show and only speak when asked a question by Gumbel. Nearing the end of her pregnancy which became complicated with a condition known as toxemia, Norville left the show for maternity leave in February 1991. It was announced that Katie Couric would substitute co-host during Norville's absence. Ratings for the program rose immediately following Norville's departure and Couric's arrival.
"We tried many people while Sally took some days off. Cindy Garvey was a favorite. Dr. Laura Schlesinger who had been a regular sub for Sally for the past five years was very determined to replace her as well as several others."
On her new role at CBS and in reference to her appearances on the CBS Evening News, Norville once remarked, "I hope Bryant was watching."
By 1995, Norville, still a news correspondent for CBS was asked 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 holds today.
In the summer of 2002, the beleaguered Early Show on CBS -- a distant rival of NBC's Today and ABC's GMA -- was in a precarious position. The show, which had failed to gain traction since its inception in 1999, was devoid of an anchor team. Former Today host Bryant Gumbel, who had since left NBC to anchor The Early Show, (TES) had not renewed his contract with the network. His co-host, Jane Clayson, was still on the show, albeit with an uncertain future. CBS, which owns King World, the syndicator for Inside Edition, hired Norville, still anchoring Inside Edition, to co-host alongside Clayson for a week. Rumors started that Norville would either join or replace Clayson on the program. Neither materialized, however, as Clayson was removed from the program and CBS opted for a multi-anchor concept of which Norville expressed no interest to be a part, and chose to stick with the syndication arm.
Ironically, CBS had reportedly approached Norville in 1999 about co-hosting the program with Gumbel before its launch. This would have been particularly unusual (if not ironic) given their unsuccessful pairing on Today.
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. |
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