JANE PAULEY - FAMOUS BIPOLAR JOURNALIST
Jane Margaret Pauley is an American television journalist. Jane was born on October 25, 1950 in Indianapolis. She has been reporting news since 1976. She is known for her public acknowledgement of her struggles with bipolar disorder. Jane is also known for her program on NBC, Today which has run for 13 years. Another program she anchors in, Dateline NBC has run for 12 years. Jane became a symbol for female journalists as well as professional women. A community health facility was named after her, to recognize her contributions to health care education.
Jane Pauley attended Warren Central High School, where she was a member of the Indiana High School Forensic Association. She participated in debates and public speaking competitions. She was awarded a scholarship to study at Indiana University. In the university, she was part of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Upon graduations, she worked at WISH, Indianapolis for 3 years and at WMAQ, Chicago for a year and subsequently joined Network Television. She co-hosted The Today Show on NBC. She left the post in 1989 following her public declaration of dislike for the morning show. She worked as deputy anchor for NBC Nightly News and later became co-host of Dateline, also on NBC.
Jane attempted to host of the Jane Pauley Show, but was unsuccessful. She went back to radio where she hosted a discussion on PBS. During the 2008 presidential polls in the United States of America, Jane publicly campaigned for President Obama and is also a regular participant of the Small Talk Lecture Series. The next year, she became a member of the Board of Directors of The Mind and Trust organization, a non-profit organization based in Indianapolis that lends support to education reform and innovation. Jane sued The New York Times for associating her name and image to a drug companies’ advertisement. She said she thought that the person who interviewed her for the advertisement was a reporter.
Pauley disclosed she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder during the opening ceremony of the McGorven Institute for Brain Research, where she serves as a Board Member. She suffered bouts of depression and frequent mood swings. She said there were times she would shout at the top of her voice at the least provocation. She also became very aggressive and reserved. She was however quick to add that it was the depression that inspired her to be successful. During moments of depression, she had worked harder and better, just to keep away from people. She has since been treated.
Jane has since dedicated her life to advocating for people living with mental illness and also creating awareness about the condition. She speaks on radio and television, telling the public all they need to know about mental health. Recognizing her efforts, a health facility established by the Community Health Network and the Metropolitan School district of Warren Township has been named after her; Jane Pauley Community Health Center. The center combines the delivery of medical and behavioral health. Jane is married to Garry Trudeau, a cartoonist and they have three children. Jane is known to expose very little of her private life.