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by Lyle Hurd, editor
Deborah Norville
A Woman for all Seasons
It was a pleasure having the opportunity to meet veteran journalist Deborah Norville, anchor of “Inside Edition,” through her capacity as the spokesperson for “Girls on the Move,” a new youth awareness project of Outward Bound.
Deborah came to “Inside Edition” from CBS News where she was a correspondent for “Street Stories,” “48 Hours” and co-anchor for “America Tonight,” a CBS News summer magazine show. While at CBS News she was awarded an Emmy for her work on “48 Hours—Flood, Sweat and Tears,” a look at the devastating Mississippi floods.
Previously Deborah hosted her own national radio show from her home—”The Deborah Norville Show”—heard on over 200 stations across the country. Earlier she was co-host of NBC’s “Today” and anchor of NBC “News At Sunrise.” At NBC she won her first national Emmy for her role in covering the democratic uprising in Rumania.
In October 1997 Deborah published her first book Back on Track: How to Straighten Out Your Life When It Throws You A Curve (Simon & Schuster). The book offers inspirational stories of women who have come back on top after crashing defeats. Her first children’s book, I Don’t Want to Sleep Tonight, was published in the fall of 1999 (Golden Books).
She is a member of the board of directors of the New York City Council of Girl Scouts and the Steering Committee for the Rita Hayworth Gala, a major Alzheimer’s Association fund-raiser. Under her chairmanship in 1992 the gala raised $1.5 million—an all-time high.
Deborah has been named “Best in the Business” by Washington Journalism Review, Mother of the Year by the National Mother’s Day Committee and awarded a local Emmy and silver plaque from the Chicago Film Festival.
Deborah is a wife, mother, journalist, author, advocate and fund-raiser who has two sons and a daughter.
TH: Deborah, welcome. “Girls on the Move” is an exciting and?ambitious undertaking. Please share the background activities and goals of the program with us.
DN: We have always been aware that girls in general suffer from self-esteem issues and need to become familiar with positive role models.
When I started looking at the statistics “Girls on the Move” has complied I was not just shocked, I was frightened and concerned. After spending three minutes looking at a fashion magazine, 70 percent of girls report they feel ashamed and depressed. More than half of all girls at 13 dislike their bodies and three quarters dislike their bodies by the time they are 18. What we are seeing is the dissatisfaction that a preteen might have that only gets worse the further they get into adolescence. It’s not just dissatisfaction with their bodies, they are depressed (one of four show signs of depression), they are being ignored in school, they are five times less likely to get attention from a teacher and half as likely to ask their teacher for help if they need it. What does this say about how girls feel about themselves? That they don’t matter? That they don’t count? That they are inconsequential? That they will never make the grade? How can anyone, male or female, with those feelings or lack of self-worth ever amount to anything?
However, did you know that girls who are physically active are 75 percent more likely to graduate from high school, 92 percent less likely to be involved with drugs? Thirty years ago, one in 27 girls were involved in high school sports, now it’s one in three. Fitness is important in girls’ lives because it helps them experience self-confidence and achieve high self-esteem. This is the message more than 60 incredible women will be advocating this fall as they bike across the country with “Girls on the Move.”
At the heart of “Girls on the Move” is a cross-country bicycling expedition from Portland to New York by riders selected for their personal stories and their ability to be role models and change lives. They’ll stop in communities along the way to inspire, celebrate and educate girls, women and communities. Top academics, distinguished celebrities, corporate sponsors and non-profit organizations have helped build and grow this groundbreaking initiative that will directly impact thousands of girls across the country. “Girls on the Move” is a special project of Outward Bound, created by a group of female instructors who saw remarkable improvements in girls’ self-esteem after completing an adventure-based educational experience.
Kicking off in September, “Girls on the Move” include:
A 3,865 mile cross-country bicycling expedition from Portland, Oregon to New York City.
Powerful community education and outreach across the country addressing issues of self-esteem, body image and self-reliance. Exciting Girls Festivals in Portland, Denver, Chicago, Philadelphia and New York City with entertainment, educational activities, interactive physical exhibits and special celebrity appearances.
Girls Festivals
“Girls on the Move” riders will be making many stops across the country during their adventure. Some of the major cities include:
Portland, Oregon Sept. 9
Denver, Colorado Oct. 7
Chicago, Illinois Oct. 28
Philadelphia Pennsylvania Nov. 12
New York, New York Nov. 18
TH: I assume this will probably be an on-going important program that will have continuity as opposed to just this one event.
DN: Absolutely. If we are successful in our goal of directly reaching 35,000 girls and women on the road and getting the message out through the media coverage which will accompany this event, most Americans will have heard of “Girls on the Move” and the reason they are traveling 3,800 miles across the country; to celebrate the strength of girls and to give a wake-up call to the rest of us who are aware of the serious statistics I shared. We have concerns and we need to address them now.
TH: You are a wife, a mother, a journalist, an author, an advocate, you are very involved in a number of service projects and it seems you have been for quite a while. When did you come to the understanding that that needed to be a very involved part of your life?
DN: It was the way I was raised. My mother was a Girl Scout troop leader for years and years and years. I remember our garage being filled with cases of cookies because she was the cookie chairman for our district. It was just something one did. I hasten to add that my mother did this while battling increasingly crippling arthritis and other health problems. Yet it was obvious, without her ever saying so, she got something positive out of being involved in participating in helping other people. I think it was a very suitable message that I certainly received loud and clear and I believe my sisters did too (I’m one of four daughters). They are all actively committed to community service.
TH: What do you consider the number one priority in your life at this time?
DN: While I wear a lot of hats, the number one hat is mom. I have three children for whom I am a critical factor in their lives. There is a difference between the roles that mothers and fathers play. I love my husband to death and he’s a great father but I do think, particularly in the younger years, for a mom to have total involvement is imperative. That is why I have made career choices that may have taken me out of the most exciting areas of television. I loved doing breaking news but the thing about being a breaking news anchor is that you’ve got to be there when the news breaks—you’ve got to be at the studio, not a home. “Inside Edition” allows me to stay in journalism, to stay in current events without having to stay in the office 24–7, which is what my former colleagues at CBS and NBC have to do. Family is number one but I also think it is important for my children to see the same examples my mother showed me which is the joy and satisfaction I get giving to other people.
Also there is a really exciting effort going on through the People magazine and AOL. It’s called the “Digital Heroes Champaign” and it’s using the Internet to mentor kids. I’m going be one of 100 people which includes such luminaries as Colin Powell, George Stephanopolis and others who are going to be using laptops to communicate with young kids who have been targeted as in need?of mentoring. The kids have been givencomputers so they can e-mail us back and forth. I will have at least one child with whom I will be directly linked and we’re going to talk about everything. It’s the same thing I said earlier, find a kid and spend time with him or her. Even if it’s a tiny bit of time it makes an enormous difference. Being able to do it through this new medium that is becoming increasingly more important in all our lives is really exciting.
TH: Your books Back on Track: How to Straighten Out Your Life When It Throws You A Curve (Simon & Schuster) and I Don’t Want To Sleep Tonight (Golden Books) have received excellent reviews and sold well. Is there another book on the horizon?
DN: I am continually gratified by the response I get from Back on Track. It has really made a difference in a number of people’s lives at the time they were in need of support. I Don’t Want To Sleep Tonight began as a poem I wrote for my seven-year-old to help him understand why he had unpleasant dreams. My second children’s book is another pop-up book called I Can Fly and deals with helping a child establish a positive self-image.
TH: Is there anything else you would like to talk about?
DN: I would love for you to mention the Web site if you can, dnorville.com. It is something I have done on my own and it has been really rewarding. People are just finding it. I’ve heard from a lot of women and men. They ask for advice, share personal concerns and give me quotes. Maybe one day I’ll expand it into something else but right now it has just been a fun, enlightening and many times touching opportunity to communicate with people. I love television but it is a cool medium. There is no real personal interaction. The Web gives us a chance to have that personal interaction.
TH: Thank you, Deborah. Please keep us updated on “Girls on the Move,” the “Digital Heroes Campaign” and other public service projects which may interest our readers. We look forward to reviewing your books and monitoring the progress of dnorville.com.
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