Robyne Robinson
| Robyne Robinson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
1961 Chicago, Illinois |
| Occupation | Television journalist |
| Years active | 1979-2010 |
| Notable credit(s) |
Fox 9 News WFAA-TV News WMAR-TV News |
| Salary | $14,000,000 |
| Website | |
| http://www.roxmpls.com | |
Robyne Robinson (born in Chicago, Illinois, 1961) is an award-winning American television journalist and entrepreneur. She ran as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota in 2010.
Biography
Robyne L. Robinson was born in Chicago as the younger of two daughters born to schoolteachers. She attended local area schools, graduating from Morgan Park Academy in 1979.
Robyne began her professional career tracking news for WNDU-TV in South Bend, Indiana. Later, she served as Military Affairs reporter for WVEC-TV in the Hampton-Norfolk area of Virginia. The Texas Association of Broadcasters honored her while working at WFAA-TV in Dallas. At WFAA-TV she covered local politics, education and public affairs. While serving as the weekend anchor at WMAR-TV in Baltimore, she was awarded the Gannett-Paul Miller Fellowship for reporting Washington politics.
For 20 years she was a reporter and then news anchor/co-anchor for Fox affiliate KMSP in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. and has worked with KMSP-TV since 1990, when KMSP was independent Minnesota 9.
On May 11, 2010, Robinson announced that she would leave KMSP and broadcasting. Her last day was May 26, 2010. On May 27, 2010, it was announced that Robinson would serve as the running mate of Matt Entenza, a DFL candidate in the August 2010 Minnesota gubernatorial primary. She had not previously been a candidate for elective office.
Other activities
In addition to her work in front of the camera, Robinson is closely involved in several non-profit organizations in the Twin Cities area. She is on the board of the Outsider Art Center, a non-profit organization for disabled, folk and self-taught artists. Robinson is an honorary board member for the Lupus Foundation of Minnesota and sits on the Advisory Board for The Soap Factory/No Name Gallery, a non-profit contemporary arts center affiliated with the Walker Art Center, one of the world’s most prestigious contemporary art museums.
Robinson founded Exhibit, a non-profit arts collective that helped fund the creation of the Independent Feature Project/Minneapolis Producers’ Fellowship, and has raised thousands of dollars for the Lupus Foundation by creating Voce, multimedia art and music events for and by women that raised Lupus education and awareness.
Robinson is also a jewelry designer and owner of Rox. Her company sells jewelry in stores throughout the Minneapolis area, as well as Chicago and New York. Her jewelry has been worn by artists such as Madonna, Nicollette Sheridan, and Paula Abdul. Her creations are also displayed at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and have been featured on the Tyra Banks Show as well as several national publications.
Awards and recognition
- Hubert H. Humphrey Public Policy Fellow at the University of Minnesota
- 2005 Upper Midwest Emmy for Best Anchor
- Edward R. Murrow Award
- St. Paul Companies' Pan-African Council Legacy Award
- Media Allies Award, Minnesota Council of Non-Profits
- Minneapolis NAACP Television Industry Award
Lieutenant Governor Run
On May 24, 2010, Robinson said in an interview that she had been asked to serve as the running mate of Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party gubernatorial candidate Matt Entenza. Robinson said she had not made up her mind yet, but that she was seriously considering it, as "any time you are potentially called to public service you need to think heavily about it.”[1] On May 27, 2010, the Entenza campaign announced that Robinson had accepted the offer.[2] Robinson and Fox 9 were criticized for allowing Robinson to remain on air despite the offer, and also for not mentioning the offer during their newscast.[3]
Robinson is the second Fox 9 News anchor to seek statewide office. Former U.S. Senator Rod Grams worked as an anchor for the station before entering politics. The campaign ended on August 10, with Matt Entenza conceding as results started to come in.
Trivia
Robyne is sometimes confused with Robin Roberts, an anchor on ABC's Good Morning America, and Fox 32's (Chicago) Robin Robinson. She is one of only two non-gay persons ever to serve as grand marshal of the Twin Cities Gay Pride Parade (the other being orchestra conductor James Touchi-Peters).
External links
References
- ↑ Robyne Robinson Considering Offer from Entenza
- ↑ "Matt Entenza Picks Robyne Robinson for LG". Entenza.com. 2010-05-27. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
- ↑ Fox9 newscast dummies up on Robyne Robinson Lt. Gov bid