Lynn Sherr '63

Alumnae Achievement Awards 1988

Print and Broadcast Journalist

Lynn Sherr, an award-winning television news correspondent, graduated from Wellesley College in 1963 with a degree in Greek. She is known not only for her achievements in journalism, but also for opening doors for women into the field of broadcast news.

Knowing from a young age that she wanted to be a journalist, Sherr went to New York after graduation and found that most news organizations were not interested in hiring women. In September 1963, she found an opening in the magazine conglomerate of Conde Nast Publications, serving as an editor and writer for Mademoiselle, Vogue, Glamour, and House and Garden magazines. She joined the Associated Press in 1965 as a reporter and news feature writer, and she remained with the AP until 1972, when she moved to television work as a reporter for WCBS-TV in New York.

Sherr gained wide recognition as a correspondent for the Public Broadcasting stations WNET in New York and WETA Washington. She was a principal anchor and reporter for the series, “USA: People & Politics,” thus becoming the first woman to anchor a regularly scheduled primetime television network news series. In 1977, she joined ABC News as a general correspondent, winning an Emmy award in 1980 for her election coverage. In 1982, she became a national correspondent for ABC News, and in that position, she covered NASA Space Shuttle missions, national politics, and numerous other subjects. She joined the staff of 20/20 as a correspondent in 1986, where she has produced numerous award-winning reports specializing in women's issues and social changes, as well as investigative reports.

Sherr is the author of Failure is Impossible: Susan B. Anthony in Her Own Words (1996), co-author of Susan B. Anthony Slept Here: A Guide to American Women’s Landmarks (1994), and Tall Blondes: A Book About Giraffes (1997). Sherr’s own memoir is titled Outside the Box (1996), chronicling the events that have shaped her life and career.

Lynn Sherr received the Alumnae Achievement Award in 1988 and she served as an alumnae trustee from 1998 to 2004.