Linda Ellerbee, respected and outspoken broadcast journalist, has functioned as a network news correspondent, anchor, writer, and producer. She is currently president of her own production company, Lucky Duck Productions. Gaining fame in the 1970s and 1980s for her stints as an NBC News Washington correspondent, Weekend co-anchor, reporter, and co-anchor of NBC News Overnight, Ellerbee came to represent a distinctive type of reporter: literate, funny, irreverent, and never condescending. Her personal style attracted a diverse and dedicated following of viewers for her stories, which covered everything from politics to pop culture. “And so it goes” is her trademark broadcast tagline as well as the title of her 1986 best-seller “And So it Goes”: Adventures in Television, an amusing and candid look at the realities of the profession.

Ellerbee’s 12-year career as a correspondent and anchor at NBC News climaxed with her appointment as co-anchor of an overnight news broadcast, NBC News Overnight. Although the program failed with audiences, Ellerbee and the concept were critical successes. The duPont Columbia Awards cited Overnight as “possibly the best written and most intelligent news program ever.” She left the network news business in 1986, after serving a stint as anchor for ABC News’ short-lived Our World.

Ellerbee’s television production company, Lucky Duck Productions, has a reputation as a supplier of outstanding children’s programming. Ellerbee writes and hosts the weekly Nick News and the quarterly Nick News Special Editions (the Nickelodeon newsmagazine for children and young people), both produced by Lucky Duck Productions. These shows have given Lucky Duck a reputation for introducing quality news journalism on a broad range of subjects to its audience. These series have been honored with the Peabody, duPont Columbia Awards, the recognition of the National Education Association, and the Parents Choice Award. The Peabody citation given in 1991 notes the award was given for presenting news in a thoughtful and noncondescending manner for both children and adults. Other Lucky Duck productions for such clients as Nickelodeon, Music Television (MTV), Home Box Office (HBO), FOX, and Time-Life include several projects for young adults and documentary or news shows for all viewers. 

In 1996, Ellerbee was again involved in expanding and experimenting with media forms. She began writing and hosting a monthly online public affairs interview program. On the Record, produced by Microsoft and Lucky Duck Productions, which combined print, television, and computer technology. She continues to write, following up her 1991 best-seller Move On with an eight-part series for middle-school children titled Get Real. A breast cancer survivor, Ellerbee also travels the country giving inspirational speeches about her life and her challenges. In 1999, she was awarded a Peabody for her accomplishments on Nick News.