Liz Brunner is a former American journalist, an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

-winning television news anchor, reporter and the CEO of Brunner Communications. She has published a

self-help book A self-help book is one that is written with the intention to instruct its readers on solving personal problems. The books take their name from ''Self-Help'', an 1859 best-seller by Samuel Smiles, but are also known and classified under "self-i ...

, ''Dare to Own You: Taking Your Authenticity and Dreams into Your Next Chapter''. Brunner worked at WCIA-TV Champaign-Urbana, IL, WTVT-TV Tampa, FL, and

WCVB-TV WCVB-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on TV Place (off Gould Street near the I-95/ MA 128/Highland Avenue in ...

, Boston, MA where she was a main news anchor and reporter. In 2013, she set up Brunner Communications, a firm that specializes in media training, communications coaching, and consulting. She is also the host of a podcast, ''Live Your Best Life with Liz Brunner.''

Early years

Brunner was born in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, to Mary (née Chacko) Russell, a retired medical social worker, and Rev. Galen E. Russell Jr., a Pastor of the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran t ...

. She was raised along with her three younger brothers in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

and

Pekin, Illinois Pekin ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tazewell County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located on the Illinois River, Pekin is the largest city of Tazewell County and the second most populous municipality of the Peoria metropolitan area ...

. Brunner graduated from Pekin High School and in 1979, competed in the

Miss America Pageant Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

as Miss Illinois. Brunner attended and earned a Bachelor of Music Degree from

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...

's Conservatory of Music in

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton () is the county seat of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending into Calumet County, Wisconsin, Calumet and Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago counties. Located on the Fox River (Green Bay tributary ...

. Upon graduation, Brunner became a music teacher in

Richton Park, Illinois Richton Park is a village and south suburb of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,775 at the 2020 census. History Richton Park sits along the Sauk Trail, a major trail used by the several Native American tribe ...

. She sang semi-professionally with the Park Forest Singers and performed for

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

at the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

Career

In 1985, Brunner took her first job in television at the CBS affiliate WCIA-TV in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, as community relations coordinator. She then joined WTVT-TV,

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...

's CBS affiliate (now a Fox station) as the director of community relations. Within a year, Brunner was named co-anchor of the early morning news. In 1991, Brunner was awarded the "Up and Comers Award" from the

American Women in Radio and Television The Alliance for Women in Media (AWM) is a nonprofit organization created by women in 1951 that works to support women in the media in the United States. About The mission of the organization is to "advance the impact of women in broadcasting a ...

, now the Alliance for Women in Media. After five years in Tampa, Brunner was hired by

, Channel 5, the ABC affiliate in Boston, as correspondent and fill-in anchor for its news magazine show, ''

Chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

''. Brunner then moved into a full-time role in Channel 5's news department becoming the 5:30 and 11pm anchor. Later, Brunner was selected to fill the space vacated by long-time Boston news anchor, Natalie Jacobson, as the 6pm NewsCenter 5 Anchor. Brunner was the executive vice-president of

, Boston chapter. In October 2013, Brunner left her 20-year post as a main anchor for NewsCenter 5, WCVB-TV. She has since launched Brunner Communications, a firm that specializes in media training and communications coaching. In 2020, Brunner aired the first season of the ''Live Your Best Life with Liz Brunner'' podcast, an interview-style show with guests who have re-created their lives. Previous guests have included; Robin Roberts, Jack Canfield, Laura Lynne Jackson, Trent Shelton, Laura Gassner Otting, and Jon Dorenbos. Brunner released her first book through GracePoint Publishing in November of 2021, ''Dare to Own You: Taking Your Authenticity and Dreams into Your Next Chapter''. The memoir follows Brunner's career journey along with the challenges faced and impactful lessons she learned through her upbringing and being a woman in her field. In 2023, the book was awarded Silver/ Second Place in the "Self-Help" category and a Finalist in the "Memoir/ Biography" category in the annual Feathered Quill Book Awards. It was recommended by Forbes as one of "Four New Books To Help You Regain Momentum On New Year’s Resolutions" and one of "5 Books For The Career-Minded Professionals On Your Holiday Gift List."

References

External links

LizBrunner.comBrunnerAcademy.comLive Your Best Life with Liz Brunner - PodcastGracePoint Publishing: Liz Brunner Author BioThe Boston Channel: Liz Brunner bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunner, Liz American women journalists 1959 births Living people People from Pekin, Illinois People from Cook County, Illinois 21st-century American women

Early years

Career

References

Further reading

External links