Latest news with #Orne
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UND undergraduate receives Truman Scholarship
Apr. 19—GRAND FORKS — A UND junior is one of the honorees in the 2025 class of Truman Scholars. Greyson Orne, a junior studying unmanned aircraft systems operations and political science, is one of the 54 honorees for this year's Truman Scholarship. The federally-funded program, established by Congress in 1975, offers $30,000 in graduate studies funding for students studying in a public-service oriented field. The scholarship is named in honor of Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States. UND President Andy Armacost and Provost Eric Link surprised Orne with the news during class last week, per a university press release. He is the 15th UND student to receive a Truman Scholarship since the award was established, per Political Science Professor Mark Jendrysik, who served as Orne's adviser. "A lot of people are going to meet Greyson and say, 'We're going to invest in this young man, and make sure he succeeds beyond his wildest dreams,'" read a statement attributed to Jendrysik. Orne intends to pursue a law degree focused on aviation policy, according to his bio on the Truman Scholarship Foundation's website.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ex-WKRN anchor Nikki Burdine says she'll do two new projects with former co-host Neil Orne
Former News 2 morning show co-host Nikki Burdine — who left WKRN in February with no explanation from her or from the station — confirmed April 14 she's doing two new projects with her former morning show co-host, Neil Orne. Orne said late last year he was leaving News 2 after 29 years to pursue new ventures. In a phone interview, Burdine, 41, said she and Orne will be doing two fun projects together, content that will appear online and not on a local TV or radio station, though details on exactly how the projects will appear have yet to be worked out. "It's going to be the real Nikki and Neil, how we used to be, without parameters, unhinged in the best way," Burdine said with a laugh. "Just fun, good-spirited joy-filled content." In a video posted to Facebook and Instagram on April 14, Burdine said a small part of what she's doing next "will involve a dear friend who I think y'all will recognize? Turns out he's got some free time too." Orne did not immediately respond to a text message and a voicemail from The Tennessean. Burdine also told The Tennessean that WKRN surprised her by letting her go in February, just a few months after she and the station signed a new multi-year contract. She said she was "very surprised" when station management told her on a Monday that her previous Friday was her last day at the station. Burdine added she was "very sad" that she wasn't given an opportunity to say goodbye to viewers in the way station managers allowed Orne to do a few months earlier. News 2 management did not immediately respond to a Tennessean email asking for comment on Burdine's departure. In February, News 2 Vice President and General Manager Mike Spruill declined to discuss Burdine's departure, writing in an email to The Tennessean: "It is our company policy that we do not comment on personnel matters." Burdine said the station gave her a reason for dismissing her but declined to say what that reason was. Burdine also declined to talk about whether she's considering legal action against the station for terminating her employment before her contract was up. In her social media video posted April 14, Burdine said, though: "Sometimes the best decisions in life are made for you. And this was one of those." Burdine said in the video she's grateful to be able to tuck her young daughter, Andi, into bed at night and get up with her in the morning, which her work hours didn't allow when she was a morning show host. "I mean, I hated missing two very important parts of her day, sacrificing the best time in the morning time for a job that does not love you back," she said. Burdine also said she's excited about being her own boss in the world of creating content. "My career up to this point has been working for someone else and creating things and writing stories that I just didn't have a lot of control over," she said. "And now I have that control back, and honestly, a lot more joy." Burdine said in the video she loved her time at News 2 and was grateful for the chance to become a main anchor and for the support she has felt from fans since her departure. Burdine said in the video post that she's staying in Nashville and she thinks her fans will be excited about what next professionally, promising that details would be coming soon. Reach Brad Schmitt at brad@ This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Ex-WKRN News 2 co-hosts Nikki Burdine, Neil Orne are reuniting
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Nikki Burdine out as News 2 morning show co-anchor after 7 years at WKRN in Nashville, sources say
Nikki Burdine is no longer at News 2 after seven and a half years as the morning show co-anchor, two sources close to the situation confirmed to The Tennessean. Burdine, 41, declined to comment Monday morning and it's not clear why she is no longer at the station. Her departure comes shortly after her morning show co-anchor Neil Orne left. News 2 Vice President and General Manager Mike Spruill also declined to discuss Burdine's employment, in an email to The Tennessean: "It is our company policy that we do not comment on personnel matters." A News 2 employee told The Tennessean that newsroom management announced to workers late last week that Burdine no longer works at the station. Burdine's name and picture no longer appear under "anchors" on News 2's staff page on the station's website. Burdine was not on the air last week, and her absence fueled speculation among News 2 viewers on social media about her employment status. Her departure comes only three months after veteran News 2 morning show co-anchor Neil Orne left WKRN after 29 years there. Orne, 58, had the sixth-longest tenure in the Middle Tennessee market among Nashville TV news personalities. Orne told the Tennessean he is grateful for his long career in local television news, but said the industry has changed and he doesn't enjoy the work as much as when he started. Burdine has remained active on social media since she stopped appearing on the air, with each post drawing questions from viewers about her status with News 2. Those questions remained unanswered as of Monday morning. In one Instagram story posted last week, a story that's no longer available, Burdine appeared with Orne. Burdine came to News 2 in March 2017 from a reporting job at a TV station in Washington, D.C. Within five months, she replaced Dawn Davenport — now a Nashville sports radio personality — as Orne's co-anchor on News 2's morning show. In 2020, Burdine shared with The Tennessean her harrowing journey of giving birth to a micro-preemie the year before. Her daughter, Andi, is now a healthy five-year-old. Burdine's exit is the second high-profile departure in Nashville TV news this year. Last month, popular NewsChannel 5 meteorologist Bree Smith confirmed she and WTVF failed to reach an agreement to extend her contract when it expired in early January. Hundreds of Channel 5 viewers protested her departure online and said they were especially angry about the lack of any on-air goodbye for Smith. The station suggested in a statement that Smith wanted to leave quietly and without fanfare. Reach Brad Schmitt at brad@ or at 615-259-8384. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nikki Burdine out as Nashville morning show anchor at WKRN | Sources
