Linda Lorelle is a journalist who anchored the evening news for nearly 17 years at Houston'sNBC 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]
Professional background
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]
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 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.
Awards and acknowledgements
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:
2023 Two Bronze Telly Awards for Lorelle Media documentary “Memorial Park Conservancy Land Bridge & Prairie” in categories Non-Broadcast Sustainability and Branded Content Not for Profit
2022 Silver Signal Award for Our Voices Matter Podcast, LGBTQ+ category: “It’s Not a Choice”, featuring Liam Paschall
2022 BronzeSignal Award for Our Voices Matter Podcast, Best Gateway category: “The Power & Cost of Owning Your Story”, featuring Amr Awadallah & Sara Selber
2021 Silver Telly Award and Bronze Quill Award, Video for Baker Hughes, “Energy Transition”
2021 Silver Telly Award and Bronze Quill Award, Video for Memorial Park Conservancy, “Eastern Glades
2021 Bronze Quill Award, Best of Division and Best of Show, Video for Memorial Park Conservancy, “Eastern Glades”
2019 Bronze Quill Award, Best of Division and Award of Excellence, mini documentary, “Now That We Know, We Can Never Forget” about discovery of slave cemeteries on Shell property in Louisiana
2019 Top 20 Impact Maker Award
2018 Shell Social Performance Award for mini documentary, “Now That We Know, We Can Never Forget” about discovery of slave cemeteries on Shell property in Louisiana
2017 Telly Award for the documentary, “Harmony Public Schools: Charting A Course Toward the Future”
2016 Silver and Bronze Quill Awards, IABC Houston, for the documentary “After the Storm: Deepwater’s Journey,” commissioned by Shell Oil Company to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina
2016 Named one of Houston’s 50 Most Influential Women
2015 Team Spirit Award, Chuck Norris & Kickstart Kids
2010 Woman of Distinction
2009 Inducted into the Greater Houston Women’s Hall of Fame - Induction video by President George H. W. Bush
2007 Houston Treasure Award, for her tireless commitment and contributions to the Houston community
2003 Macy’s Heart and Soul Award, honoring excellence in the fight against breast cancer
2002 Chron’s & Colitis Gold Key Award, recognizing Linda as an Exceptional Woman in the Houston community
2000 Anson Jones, M.D. Award for “Sydney’s Story”, a first person account of Linda’s experience covering the breast cancer battle of Houston anchor Sydney Seaward. The article appeared in Health and Fitness Magazine
1997 Houston Press Club Award, 1st Place News Series, for “Sydney’s Story”
Several awards for “Buddy Check 2: Beating the Breast Cancer Odds” series on breast cancer, including the 1995 Commendation Award from the American Women in Radio and Television, the Cancer League's Media Community Service Award and the Cancer Counseling Media Award of Excellence
1992 Media Award from the Texas Association for Year-Round Education in recognition of positive reports on “The New System”, aired during the 1991-92 school year
1991 and 1990 School Bell Award from the Texas State Teachers Association, for outstanding news or feature series “They Should Know That” and “They Should Know That, Too”
Linda Lorelle Scholarship Fund
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]