Debbie Elliott

In September 2005, correspondent Debbie Elliott became the new host of NPR's Weekend All Things Considered.

As a correspondent for NPR News, Elliott covered the Gulf Shore region. Elliott traveled around the deep South, reporting on a variety of issues and events.

Since joining NPR in 1995, Elliott has covered the re-opening of civil-rights-era murder cases, the legal battle over the Ten Commandments at the Alabama Supreme Court, the Elian Gonzales custody dispute from Miami, local homeland security initiatives, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and a number of hurricanes. She was a part of NPR series on girls and the juvenile justice system, the 50th anniversary of Brown versus the Board of Education, science and the courts, and homework.

In addition to covering news from around the Southeast, Elliott was NPR's specialist on tobacco litigation. She has covered landmark smoker lawsuits, the tobacco settlement with states, tobacco-control policy, and the latest trends in youth smoking.

Elliott also contributed to NPR's ongoing, in-depth coverage of Southern politics. Elliott was stationed in Tallahassee, Florida, for election night in 2000, and was one of the first national reporters on the scene for the contentious presidential election contest that followed. During the 1998 elections, she traveled up Interstate 65 from Mobile to Indiana for a series of conversations with voters.

For more than 20 years, Elliott has been reporting from her native South, a region rich in cultural and historical significance and teeming with colorful characters. In addition to her work with NPR, Debbie has filed reports internationally for the BBC, the CBC, and the former Monitor Radio. She is an occasional contributor to Alabama Public Television. Her experience includes three years in Montgomery, Alabama, covering state government for the Alabama Radio Network, and several years as a sports reporter and producer at commercial radio stations and networks.

A cum laude graduate of the University of Alabama College of Communication, Elliott first worked in public radio during college. She hosted local news breaks during NPR's Morning Edition at WUAL in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where she eventually became news director. She served on the national Board of Public Radio News Directors, Incorporated, and helped coordinate the 1994 Public Radio Journalism Conference that led to publication of Independence and Integrity: A Guidebook for Public Radio Journalism. She was recognized as the 2000 Outstanding Alumna in Telecommunication and Film from the University of Alabama College of Communication.

Elliott is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. She was born in Atlanta, grew up in the Memphis area, and now lives with her husband and two children in Washington, DC.