Linda Lorelle is a journalist who anchored the evening news for nearly 17 years at Houston's NBC affiliate, KPRC-TV. She is CEO & Executive Producer of Linda Lorelle Media, a communications consulting and video production firm based in Houston. She is also co-founder of the democracy initiative, Civil Dialogues, along with Jean Becker, former Chief of Staff to President George H.W. Bush during his post presidency.[1]
She created and hosts the award-winning Our Voices Matter Podcast. Linda won an Emmy for Beyond Brown vs. Board: The Journey Continues, a documentary on how Houston desegregated its schools, and an Emmy for her first-person account of another local news anchor's cancer. She garnered two national Gracie Awards, given by the American Women in Radio and Television.[2]
Lorelle made her move to broadcast journalism in 1987 after a career as a professional dancer and actress. Prior to dancing in multiple companies and doing musical theatre across the country, Linda attained a B.A. in Developmental Psychology and a B.A. in Italian Language from Stanford University. A career-ending injury was the catalyst to move her toward a new career in journalism.[3]
She went back to school to attain an M.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. While in graduate school, she became weekend anchor at KOMU-TV, the NBC affiliate in Columbia, Missouri. After completing her Masters, she went on to reporting at KMOV-TV, the CBS affiliate in St. Louis, Missouri.
In 1989, she signed on with KPRC-TV in Houston as a weekend anchor, and was soon promoted to anchoring the weekday 6 and 10 pm newscasts, a position she held for 14 years. In the last two and a half years of her employment at KPRC, Linda moved to anchoring the 5 and 6 pm newscasts, as well as the mid-day and 4 pm shows. Throughout her years at KPRC, she anchored Dateline Houston, led the station's documentary projects, and hosted several special programs, including the Muscular Dystrophy Labor Day Telethon and the College Fund (UNCF) Telethon. While at KPRC, she won two Emmys for "Beyond Brown vs. Board: The Journey Continues", a documentary on how Houston desegregated its schools, and "Sydney’s Story", her first person account of another local news anchor's (Sydney Seaward of KNWS-TV battle with cancer.
Linda has reported on a variety of stories and events through the years as a reporter and anchor, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; President Bill Clinton's first inauguration; President George W. Bush's first inauguration; the shuttle flight of Dr. Mae Jemison, the first woman of color in space and her Stanford roommate; John Glenn's return to space; the shuttle Columbia tragedy; Super Bowl XXXVIII; numerous NBA and WNBA Finals; the World Series; the Houston Rockets in China, and President George H.W. Bush's 80th birthday, complete with a first person account of what it's like to sky dive with the Golden Knights of the U.S. Army.
Her Gracie Award-winning documentary on the former President George H.W. Bush now has two permanent homes: at the Bush Presidential Library in College Station and in the Peabody Collection of the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago, Illinois. The Brown vs. Board documentary also rests in the Museum.[4]
Linda left KPRC-TV in 2006. In 2009, she founded Linda Lorelle Media, a multimedia production and communications consulting firm. She works across all industries, C-suites and issues as a documentary filmmaker, expert media trainer and executive coach, producer and community convener. In 2018, she launched the popular podcast, Our Voices Matter, sharing intimate conversations that remind us of our common humanity. Her work in that arena led companies to reach out to Linda as a facilitator of authentic conversations on race, social justice and workplace diversity.
In addition to her two Emmys, Linda is also a two-time recipient of the national Gracie Award from the American Women in Radio and Television, as well as numerous honors on the local, regional and national level:
Linda's interest in education and children led her to found the Linda Lorelle Scholarship Fund, a non-profit 501(c)(3) charity that provides major college scholarships and support to Houston area students. The LLSF targets students with average grades from challenging backgrounds. To date, the LLSF has awarded more than $4.6 million in scholarships to nearly 400 students. In September of 2023, Linda and her husband, Lou Gregory, turned over the LLSF to 5 former scholars and their daughter, Lindsey. The next generation is now paying it forward and running LLSF 2.0. [5]
Linda's community activities include current and past, board and advisory board memberships in: the Linda Lorelle Scholarship Fund; Convergence Center for Policy Resolution; the Texas Woman’s University Institute of Health Sciences-Houston Center, the Houston Police Foundation; San Jacinto Girl Scouts; the Women's Resource; Society of Professional Journalists; Sisters Network; the Houston Zoo; the Junior League; the Children's Assessment Center Foundation and Casa de Esperanza and I Have A Dream. Linda also served as the Selection Committee Chair for the 2002 Leon Jaworski Award.