• alt.fan.lynne-russell
  Usenet newsgroup created in January 1995
• ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/ja/jaollnge/lynne.htm
  The Lynne Russell Resource, by J.A. Ollinger [jaollnge@netcom.com]; bibliography and research sources
• http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/russell.html
  CNN's web site, Anchors & Reporters section; brief biography and career summary
• http://www.his.com~blev/lynnepages.html
  Lynne Russell web page by Brian Lev (you're there now!) [brian.lev@his.com]

Lynne Russell was born in Orange, New Jersey, to John Russell and Carmela Pasqualina Evangelista on November 1, 1946. Her father was a career army officer, so her family moved frequently while she was growing up. She studied nursing at the University of Colorado, but later pursued a broadcasting career at a small radio station. Lynne then got a radio job in Miami, where she met her current husband, Jim Dunlap. They married in 1978. That same year was her first TV news job, in Jacksonville, and over the next several years she did TV news in Boston, Honolulu, and San Antonio, until landing the job in Atlanta with the young Headline News in 1983.

• Lynne has a son, John, born circa 1971 from a brief first marriage.
• Her height is 5' 9".
• Hair: red/brown. Eyes: dark brown.
• Her ancestry is Italian on her mother's side.
• She's a vegetarian.
• Her salary is in the six-figure range.
• Favorite anchor: Roger Mudd.

One of the fascinating aspects of Lynne's life is that she has some unusual hobbies and moonlights in some unexpected professions. "She has a lot of different passions," says co-worker Chuck Roberts. She is a:

Deputy Sheriff -- Lynne is a volunteer deputy for the Fulton County Sheriff's Department. She wears a full uniform, carries a gun, and performs such duties as providing security for public events, screening visitors at the county jail, and occasionally directing traffic.
Private Investigator and Bodyguard -- A licensed P.I., Lynne works part-time for the United Security Group (unpaid, so as not to be a conflict of interest with CNN). For example, she does investigation and surveillance of fraudulent injury claimants and unfaithful spouses and has served as a bodyguard for celebrities visiting Atlanta.
Martial Artist -- Lynne has been involved in martial arts for about 20 years, starting with Shotokan Karate and more recently studying a Korean form called Choi Kwang Do. She has a black belt and trains regularly.

Almost certainly. Lynne's extensive experience in martial arts would make her a formidable foe. Says her instructor, "In the classroom a lot of the male population, they're actually pretty frightened of her." Aside from that, she's licensed to carry a handgun; specifically, she packs a SIG-Sauer 9mm semiautomatic pistol and knows how to use it.
     But we are fortunate in that Lynne uses her powers for good instead of evil.

Yes, on the inside of her left forearm. It is a yellow circle containing an orange mark, a black figure of a dragon, and black Korean characters which read as "Pil Sung." Pil Sung is a motto for Choi Kwang Do and translates as "Certain Victory." Lynne got the tattoo to celebrate attaining her first-degree black belt in 1994.

Features on Lynne have appeared in the following magazines:

• People Weekly, June 27, 1994. "Here Now, the Sleuth," p. 61.
• Atlanta, April 1995. "CNN's Secret Agent," p. 40.
• The Saturday Evening Post, June 1995. "Lynne Russell: CNN's Straight-Shooting Anchorwoman," p. 34.

Lynne appeared as a guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on 7/25/94. She caused a bit of a stir by hiking up her miniskirt in the middle of the interview to reveal her trusty 9mm pistol in a thigh holster. In addition, she repeatedly referred to her boss Ted Turner's wife Jane Fonda as "Barbarella."
     In the spring of '95, Lynne was profiled on the entertainment news show EXTRA. They showed her at work at CNN, practicing martial arts in the gym, and patrolling the streets of Atlanta as a deputy sheriff.

Pictures have been scanned from the Saturday Evening Post article, and the jpegs are posted to alt.binaries.pictures.celebrities and alt.binaries.pictures.misc on occasion. A series of video captures from the EXTRA show mentioned above were also recently posted. The CNN web site has a single blurry, low-quality pic of Lynne (get with it, CNN!).

Rumor has it that Playboy offered Lynne big bucks to pose nude, but she declined. Although not nude, the most erotic pictures of Lynne are from Atlanta magazine, where she is clad in tight patent leather, wears her gun as an accessory, and shows quite a bit of black-stockinged, stiletto-heeled leg.

Unlike most anchorwomen, Lynne is known to change her hairstyle frequently. To quote Atlanta magazine, "Russell's may be the most carefully scrutinized television 'do' since Howard Cosell put on a rug. Even casual viewers note that one night Russell looks carefully coiffed and the next as if she forgot to wear a shower cap -- which is what, in fact, sometimes happens. "Regarding my hair," volunteers Russell, accustomed to comments, "I have no control over it. I'm just wearing it."
     Her color is primarily dark red, although even that is variable -- at one time during the 80's she even had a very brief stint as a blonde. Some have theorized that she may sometimes wear wigs on the air, but this has not been confirmed.

Unknown. She supposedly knows of the existence of alt.fan.lynne-russell, though -- one of her CNN co-workers discovered the group shortly after its creation and posted, saying he would give Lynne printouts of the posts. But we can only speculate if this is an ongoing thing, or if Lynne might even read the group herself (after all, they do have that laptop on the anchor desk...).

The general email address for comments about all CNN shows and stories is cnn.feedback@cnn.com, and the snail mail address for Lynne's show would be:

In 1995 Lynne signed a five-year contract with CNN (her longest ever). So we should continue seeing Lynne at least until the end of the century.

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