Lynne article from May 98 "George"
Alf
Below is the brief George article from last spring. Actually, it's
one of two side-by-side articles, comparing and contrasting Lynne and
Daljit Dhaliwal of ITN.
The article also had a purple-tinted b&w photo of Lynne leaning
against a desk. I'll try to post that at some point once I get the
scanner working.
From George magazine, May 1998, pp. 30-31.
How do you take your news?
Scandalgate '98 has spawned a nation of jaded information consumers. But
whenever these two anchors go on the air, people stop, look, and listen.
One is calm and analytical, the other, pure attitude. Which will we
follow into the millennium?
"We're all observers," says headline muse Lynne Russell. A fan once
approached ITN's Daljit Dhaliwal in a New York deli and declared, "I'd
recognize your voice anywhere."
LYNNE RUSSELL
She kicks ass. She packs heat. And from 7 to 11 P.M. EST every
weeknight, Lynne Russell anchors CNN's Headline News -- a continual strafe
of information crammed into bulleted points on the half hour. As Russell
reads the news, her spunk, like an unruly bra strap, slips into view. A
cocked eyebrow, an arch tone, a stifled smirk may punctuate an absurd
item, such as the one in March when a Mesa, Arizona, cop was assaulted by
a man armed with a doughnut.
This year, Russell, 51, celebrates 15 years and 28,800 broadcasts at
Headline News. During that time, she has not set out to editorialize, she
says, "but let's face it, we all hear just an awful lot of bullshit."
Despite the bullshit, the Atlanta-based Russell loves broadcasting so
much that she refuses payment for her day jobs -- as a private
investigator, a black-belt bodyguard, and an armed officer with the Fulton
Count jail system -- for fear of incurring conflict-of-interest
accusations. To her male minions, Russell is more than the sum of her
parts: She's the business-class version of Sophia Loren.
But some viewers cross the line that separates fan from fanatic. In
1994, a Massachusetts man was convicted of stalking Russell. On another
occasion, a male pedestrian planted himself in the background of an
on-the-scene report, interfering with the shot. Russell covered her mike,
turned to the man, and said, "If you don't knock it off, you're gonna
carry your balls out in a basket." He left.
Yet Russell maintains an unwavering faith in the public. When she
began programming for talk radio in the early '70s, a colleague warned
her, "Remember, Lynne, the masses are asses." But she says, "I was
insulted on their behalf. I think sometimes we don't give viewers enough
credit."
These days, the newswoman plans to make news herself -- by writing a
book for St. Martin's Press. She describes it as an empowerment guide for
women, Russell-style. "I imagine men will enjoy it too," she says.
"There'll be a whole section on the virtues of garter belts." -- Rory
Evans
Earl Cooley III
> Well, better late than never!
> Below is the brief George article from last spring. Actually, it's
>one of two side-by-side articles, comparing and contrasting Lynne and
>Daljit Dhaliwal of ITN.
> The article also had a purple-tinted b&w photo of Lynne leaning
>against a desk. I'll try to post that at some point once I get the
>scanner working.
>
>
>
>From George magazine, May 1998, pp. 30-31.
>
Thanks for posting this! There are a great bunch of LynneQuotes here.
--
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