WXIA NBC 11Alive is proud to announce the hire of Shiba Russell as the newest morning anchor on Atlanta Alive.
WXIA NBC 11Alive is proud to announce the hire of Shiba Russell as the newest morning anchor on Atlanta Alive.
Beginning July 2016, Shiba will co-anchor Atlanta Alive from 4:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. on WXIA-TV, and 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. on WATL-TV, alongside co-anchors Vinnie Politan, Jaye Watson, StormTracker Chesley McNeil and TrafficTracker Crash Clark. She will officially be joining the team June 23.
Russell is an Emmy-award winning journalist who has covered breaking news stories across the country, anchoring from the scene of the Newtown, Connecticut, Sandy Hook school massacre and providing extended coverage on the killing of Osama Bin Laden.
Most recently, Russell served as co-anchor of NBC 4 New York’s Noon and 5:30 p.m. weekday newscasts. She began her career in Long Island as a reporter, photographer and fill-in anchor for Neighborhood News 12. From there, she became the weekend anchor/one-man-band reporter for News 12 The Bronx and was one of the first News 12 Network reporters to cover the September 11 terrorist attacks. She has also held anchor and reporter positions at WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and WCVB-TV in Boston, Massachusetts.
“Shiba brings extensive journalistic experience to the team as a field reporter and anchor in the country's largest market covering some of the biggest stories in the last several years,” said 11Alive News Director Jennifer Rigby. “She is the perfect addition to our Atlanta Alive morning team and together with Vinnie, Chesley, Crash and Jaye, they will deliver the information you need, a great dose of energy and always some motivation to help get your day off to the right start.”
Russell graduated magna cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications, from the College of New Rochelle. She earned a Master of Science degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
In her spare time, Russell is actively involved in non-profit organizations that provide educational opportunities for underserved students and is a mentor to young girls who aspire to become journalists.
