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University of Toledo alumna Christi Paul is using her high-profile career as a tool for making a difference, most notably in locating missing children.
"I feel like I do something good," she said. "There are days where we are talking about Tiger Woods and Brett Favre, and you wonder how it is impacting anybody. I know people are talking about it, but am I telling anybody anything positive?"
Paul is a weekday news anchor for Headline News on CNN. She started a segment on the show called "Find Our Children" which partners with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Washington, D.C. to feature a story each week of a missing child.
"There are so many things I've learned from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children since I partner with them on a weekly basis," Paul said. "I think they are things people need to know to keep their kids safe, because we do entirely too many abduction cases."
The segment has helped track down five missing children and another who was found but not in connection with their report.
"We just found a family of three kids that had been taken by their paternal grandmother to Mexico," Paul said. "They had been missing for three years and were found a month after our segment aired. That proves to me the reach that news has and the power that news has to do something good if you bring your passion into it and don't give up. I had to fight for that segment for a year and a half."
Paul is involved in several child-related organizations, serving as an ambassador for Safe Kids Georgia and on the board for the Starlight Starbright Foundation.
One of Paul's most notable stories came during her time at KTVB in Boise, Idaho where she was an anchor, reporter and producer. She spent months covering fundraisers and other events for Julianne Prudhomme until the four-year-old underwent a five-organ transplant. Prudhomme survived for a year after the operation, according to Paul.
"It gave a lot of people hope," she said. "It was a real blessing for me to be involved in that story and with that family. They are very special people."
Paul was honored by the Idaho Press Club for the series of stories. She is glad to see a trend in news toward more personable stories.
"They are very concerned with making sure we show the human side of the story now," Paul said. "It's not all being stoic and cut and dry. It's almost like they are giving people permission to show their emotions."
Paul said the quality of a story decreases as the reporter becomes more distant from their story.
"You have to be sensitive to these people," she said. "It's not as though we're talking about characters — these are peoples' lives."
Paul left Boise for ABC affiliate KNXV before being hired by CNN affiliate KTVK, both of which are in Phoenix, Ariz. She was an anchor, weathercaster and reporter at KNXV and a consumer reporter and anchor for KTVK.
While in Phoenix, Paul started a segment called "Sunday Sweethearts," which remains one of the Humane Society's most successful placement programs. According to Paul, every animal featured on the show during her five years was adopted. She even adopted two dogs from the Humane Society.
"I like the fact that my stations have been so supportive of the ideas I've come up with," Paul said. "I'm a lunatic for animals and kids."
Paul was the keynote speaker at the Touchstone Awards held last Thursday by the Press Club of Toledo.
Ashley Roth, a senior majoring in communications and the producer of UT:10, a student broadcast news program, won the 2010 scholarship at the awards ceremony.
Roth has met Paul on several occasions, including a tour of the CNN facilities in Atlanta, Ga. in the summer with fellow UT:10 member Amanda Patton, who is also a senior majoring in communications and received the scholarship at last year's awards.
"She is my role model in this industry," Roth said. "This past summer, Amanda Patton and I visited her in Atlanta. She gave us an inside tour of CNN and HLN. It is amazing to see someone from Toledo has been so successful. Her personality makes her who she is. She is not only successful with her career, but she is also successful with her family. That is a high value to me. She is phenomenal."
Toledo Mayor Mike Bell emceed the ceremony and also praised Paul's personality.
"It's very classy having a Rocket that is so high profile out there doing it every day," Bell said. "She is a very nice, down to earth person, a straight shooter. That gives you more appreciation for the person. She's a very pretty lady, but her personality is even deeper than that. It was fun talking to her and hanging out."
Paul's first lead anchor position came in Clarksburg, W. Va. where she also worked as a reporter, photographer and editor.
"I feel like I learn something new every day, which is really ironic because I was a really bad student," Paul said. "Once I got out in the world, I had a natural curiosity. That's one of the biggest traits you need as a reporter."
Her versatility extends beyond the realm of news. Paul was the third runner up to Miss Ohio in 1993 and has sung the National Anthem at many professional sporting events, including Cleveland Cavaliers and the Atlanta Braves games. She even sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" for the Toledo Mud Hens.
Paul has been collaborating with the songwriter for country singer Martina McBride.
"I love songwriting," she said. "I love writing in general. It's a part of this business. I love the whole creative process of it."
While Paul participates in a wide array of activities, her passion still lies in reporting.
"I like being able to do breaking news where you don't know what's happening and it's kind of coming at you fast and furious," Paul said. "You feel like you're telling people something important and doing something productive."
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