Karen Bowerman is an English journalist, television presenter, filmmaker and travel writer who has worked for

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

CNN International CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inter ...

and the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

. Formerly the Consumer Correspondent for BBC 1, and the Business and Consumer Presenter for the BBC News Channel and BBC World, she is now freelance, specialising in travel, consumer stories and personal finance. She is a presenter and film maker for the BBC's '' Travel Show'' on

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

and BBC World, works for The Press Association and contributes to the ''

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

'', the '' Mail on Sunday'', the ''

Express Express or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid Music * ''Express'' ...

'',

CNN.com CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

and ''

National Geographic Traveller ''National Geographic Traveler'' is a magazine published by NG Media in Armenia, Belgium, the Netherlands, China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Latin America, Israel, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and the UK. The US ...

''. When not on assignment she is a corporate presenter.

Education

Bowerman was an Academic Scholar at

St Hugh's College St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a women's college, and accepte ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. She has a BA (Hons) and MA in Theology. After her first degree she was offered a place at

Wolfson College, Oxford Wolfson College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Located in north Oxford along the River Cherwell, Wolfson is an all-graduate college with around sixty governing body fellows, in addition to both research and ...

, to study for a PhD in Theology but had to defer for a year to try to secure funding. During this time she began working for a local paper.

Career

After a brief spell in regional newspapers and TV,''Cowboy builders & rogue workmen? All in a day's work for Karen'', Karen Ireland, ''The Belfast Telegraph'', 14 November, Bowerman became a

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

Trainee, passed various law exams for journalists, and went on to report and present for

BBC South West BBC South West is the BBC English Region serving Cornwall, Devon, Isles of Scilly, West Somerset, West Dorset and Channel Islands. Services Television ''BBC South Wests television service (broadcast on BBC One South West) consists of the flagshi ...

and

BBC News

In 2002 Bowerman was offered a job as the Consumer Correspondent for the BBC News at One, BBC News at Six and the

BBC News at Ten ''BBC News at Ten'' formerly known as the ''BBC Ten O'Clock News'' or the ''Ten O'Clock News'' is the flagship evening news programme for the BBC News channel and British television channel BBC One on weekdays and Sundays at 10:00pm. Huw Edwa ...

where she specialised in undercover filming and special investigations. In 2006, she became the Business & Consumer Presenter for the BBC News Channel while also reporting for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

& News reading for

Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...

Programmes

After establishing herself in News, Bowerman worked as a contributor and presenter for BBC programmes. Stints included Weekend Watchdog, Newsnight, Fast:track (now

The Travel Show ''The Travel Show'' is an EP by British rapper Braintax, was released through Low Life Records in 1999. The EP was never released on CD; however, it can be purchased on the Internet as a digital download in MP3 format. Track listing Digit ...

) on

and the

Heaven and Earth Show ''The Heaven and Earth Show'' is a BBC television programme that aired on Sunday mornings from 10am to 11am on BBC One. The show ran for nine years between 1998 and 2007, looking at spiritual and moral issues. Over the years it had numerous prese ...

on BBC 1. She presented several series of BBC Northern Ireland's Watchdog,

Fair Play Fair play or Fairplay usually refers to sportsmanship. Fair play or Fairplay may also refer to: Media * ''Fair Play'' (1925 film), an American silent film * ''Fair Play'', a 1972 TV movie starring Paul Ford * ''Fair Play'' (2014 film), a Czech ...

, on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

, where some of her undercover investigations led to convictions. She also conceived and co-produced ''Test the Nation's Morals'', a live show broadcast by

Religion which gave birth to a national equivalent.

Films and Documentaries

Since 2009 Bowerman has worked as a freelance travel reporter and film maker for the BBC's News Features department. She produces, shoots and presents her own material. Her short travel films have won several awards. Work has taken her to the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

and

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

where she has made documentaries for TV and

. Projects have included sailing a replica Phoenician ship round Africa, travelling in India with the grandson of Gandhi, navigating the

North West Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arct ...

in the footsteps of

Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of An ...

and rafting the rapids of the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...

Awards

Bowerman twice won "Travel Broadcaster of the Year" in the former UK Travel Press Awards, gaining recognition for films she shot and produced herself. She has been short-listed for, and won, various gongs since. Some are listed below: *"Best Cruise Broadcast 2015" ''Cruise Line Industry Association''; *"Best National Newspaper Travel Feature on Germany 2015" (Runner-up), German Tourist Board; *"Best Regional Newspaper Travel Feature 2015" (Finalist), ''Travel Media Awards''; *"Best National (Magazine) Travel Feature 2014" (Finalist), ''UK Travel Awards''; *"Best Regional Travel Feature 2013" ''British Travel Press Awards''; *"Travel Broadcaster of the Year 2012" (portfolio of short films) ''UK Travel Press Awards''; *"Best Regional Travel Feature 2012" ''British Travel Press Awards''; *"Specialist Journalist Award 2012 (Travel)" ''British Regional Press Awards''; *"Travel Broadcast Journalist of the Year 2011" (Runner-Up), ''British Guild of Travel Writers''; *"Travel Broadcaster of the Year 2010" (portfolio of short films) ''UK Travel Press Awards''; *"Travel Broadcaster of the Year 2009" (Runner-Up), ''UK Travel Press Awards''.

Corporate work

Bowerman hosts international conferences, leads panel discussions and acts as a presenter for various corporate projects. Clients have included the UN, Mercedes, Hitachi, Danone, Swiss Re, Saga, Farnborough Air Show, the International Telecommunication Union and supermarkets.

The wrong Guy

Bowerman's infamous claim to fame was interviewing the "wrong guy",

Guy Goma Guy Goma (born 1969) is a Congolese-French business studies graduate from Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo who was accidentally interviewed live on BBC News 24, a UK television news station, on Monday 8 May 2006. Goma was mistaken for tech ...

, on BBC News in 2006. Goma was an applicant for an IT job who thought the interview was a bizarre BBC process. The BBC said Bowerman sensed something was not right but that in the frantic environment of live news her editor did not hear her. In the end she was told to keep the man talking while producers scrambled to find another guest.''BBC Editor’s blog'', 16 May 2006
/ref> Bowerman's editor said she "deserved a medal" for her good humoured handling of the affair.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowerman, Karen BBC newsreaders and journalists BBC World News Living people Year of birth missing (living people)