Why is Deborah Norville leaving Inside Edition? Exit explored as beloved anchor reveals next step following departure

Deborah Norville has stepped down from her position as the anchor of Inside Edition after a 30 year run. Due to her departure, many viewers have been reflecting on her long tenure and questioning why the anchor has decided to leave now.

Norville’s initial introduction to Inside Edition came in 1995 when she replaced Bill O’Reilly. This was back when the show was still trying to establish itself in the competitive realm of news television.

Despite the show’s popularity and a lucrative offer from producers to renew her contract, Deborah Norville recently announced her retirement, explaining that she has other priorities in her personal life. She told People Magazine, and in her last on-air appearance, that after putting her job first for decades, it was time for her to concentrate on her family and personal life:

"It has been an honor and a privilege to be here at ‘Inside Edition’ for all these years… They made me a lovely offer to stay, but there are things I’d like to do and places I want to do them that continuing here doesn’t permit," she said during her last appearance.

Norville said the decision was due to a desire to be more present for her husband, Karl Wellner and their three adult children. She said her husband had never once failed to support her decisions. Now, she thinks it is time to give that support back and focus on the life they have built together:

"There've been too many times when my career had to come first, and I had to say, 'You do understand?' And he'd always say he [husband] did," she told People Magazine.

While Deborah Norville is leaving her daily broadcasting, she is supposedly not done with the media world. She shared that she has a couple of financial ideas ready, suggesting new opportunities in the future.

One project known for certain is The Perfect Line, a trivia-based game show that will premiere later this year. The show will supposedly be a mix of news, pop culture, and entertainment:

"If you follow the news, you'll be really good at this game show, but you don't have to be wicked smart to be successful at it either. I'm very excited about that," she said.

A look into Deborah Norville's early career and legacy

Deborah Norville, a two-time Emmy Award-winning journalist’s career began in 1995. She started her career while serving as a student at the University of Georgia, where she graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Beginning at WAGA TV in Atlanta, she began making a name for herself with stints at WMAQ TV in Chicago and then as an anchor at NBC’s News at Sunrise.

Deborah Norville emerged in the national sphere as a co-host of NBC’s Today and later worked at CBS News and MSNBC. According to her website's bio, she has also had several of her own television shows, including Deborah Norville Tonight and The Deborah Norville Show.

The veteran journalist also looked back on an earlier choice to sign with Inside Edition compared to a high profile role at CBS News that would have had her on the road most of the time:

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"At that time, when I was leaving CBS News, they'd made me a great offer to be a weekend anchor one night, But that meant I would have been on the road, and I was expecting my second child, and I knew I could not be the wife and mother that I wanted to be," she told People Magzine.

Deborah Norville’s work in journalism has earned her membership in the Broadcast & Cable Hall of Fame (2016) and the Broadcasters Foundation of America Lifetime Achievement Award (2024).

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