Karen Bowerman
Encyclopedia
Karen Bowerman is an English
journalist
and television
presenter
who has worked for Sky
, ITV
, CNN International
and the BBC
. She was the consumer
correspondent
for BBC One
and the business
, finance
and consumer
presenter for the BBC News Channel and its international counterpart BBC World
. She now works as a presenter
and videojournalist for Fast Track
, the BBC's international travel show and specialises in business, consumer & travel journalism.
where she was an academic scholar. She has a BA (Hons) and MA in Theology
. She was accepted at Wolfson College
, Oxford
, to study for a Ph.D in Theology but deferred her place for a year to try to fund it. It was then she got into journalism.
and eager to start Bowerman took her laptop
into a local paper in Devon
and offered to write up local stories until they could afford to pay her. Soon she was freelancing for them, writing stories and editing special editions. A few months later she became a BBC
Trainee in News which led to her reporting and presenting for BBC South West
.
in 1997 as a producer. She went on to become and presenter and reporter for Sky and an occasional presenter for CNN International
covering the Omagh bombing and the death of Mother Teresa. In 2000 Bowerman returned to the BBC
, this time in London, as the consumer
correspondent
for the BBC News at One, BBC News at Six and the BBC News at Ten carrying out undercover filming and special investigations (fears over mobile phone masts; misleading advertising; dangers of hidden salt in food; availability of prescription medicines online). She also reported for BBC Radio 4
and BBC Radio 5 Live
. In 2003 Bowerman worked for BBC Programmes for a few years before returning as the business, personal finance & consumer presenter for BBC News.
, Newsnight
, BBC 2's travel show Fast:track (now broadcast on BBC World) and Carlton Country. In 2003 she joined the Heaven and Earth Show which she regularly produced. She also conceived and co-produced Let's Test the Nation's Morals a one-off show broadcast by BBC Religion & Ethics in front of a live audience. In 2004 she became a presenter on BBC Northern Ireland's Consumer show, Fair Play, exposing rogue traders
through undercover filming. Some of her investigations resulted in court action against those involved.
to Sydney
, Australia
. Bowerman is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers
and was shortlisted (one of three) for the Travel Broadcast Journalist of the year in the Kingley Travel Press Awards, 2009.
on BBC News
when she was the News Channel's business, personal finance & consumer presenter. Goma was an unsuspecting applicant for an IT job who thought the interview on Apple Computers was part of the BBC's interview process. Bowerman's editor said her sixth sense suggested something was wrong but that there was so much going on her communication to him got lost as they went live.
Bowerman was told to keep the man talking while producers scrambled to get another guest lined up. The story gave Fleet Street and the international press a good run for their money. The BBC said Bowerman "deserved a medal" for her handling of the affair.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
presenter
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
who has worked for Sky
Sky
The sky is the part of the atmosphere or outer space visible from the surface of any astronomical object. It is difficult to define precisely for several reasons. During daylight, the sky of Earth has the appearance of a pale blue surface because the air scatters the sunlight. The sky is sometimes...
, ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, CNN International
CNN International
CNN International is an international English language television network that carries news, current affairs, politics, opinions, and business programming worldwide. CNN is one of the world's largest news organizations. It is owned by Time Warner, and is affiliated with CNN, which is mainly...
and the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. She was the consumer
Consumer
Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...
correspondent
Correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
for BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
and the business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
, finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
and consumer
Consumer
Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...
presenter for the BBC News Channel and its international counterpart BBC World
BBC World
BBC World News is the BBC's international news and current affairs television channel. It has the largest audience of any BBC channel in the world...
. She now works as a presenter
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and videojournalist for Fast Track
Fast Track
Fast Track is an informal English phrase meaning "the quickest and most direct route to achievement of a goal, as in competing for professional advancement".Fast Track may also refer to:* Fast Track, a FoxBusiness.com show hosted by Anna Gilligan...
, the BBC's international travel show and specialises in business, consumer & travel journalism.
Education
Bowerman studied at St Hugh's College, OxfordOxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
where she was an academic scholar. She has a BA (Hons) and MA in Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
. She was accepted at Wolfson College
Wolfson College
Wolfson College may refer to:*Wolfson College, Cambridge*Wolfson College, Oxford...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, to study for a Ph.D in Theology but deferred her place for a year to try to fund it. It was then she got into journalism.
Early career
Realising she wanted to become a journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and eager to start Bowerman took her laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
into a local paper in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and offered to write up local stories until they could afford to pay her. Soon she was freelancing for them, writing stories and editing special editions. A few months later she became a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Trainee in News which led to her reporting and presenting for BBC South West
BBC South West
BBC South West is the BBC English Region serving Devon, Cornwall and the Channel Islands.-Television:BBC South Wests television service consists of the flagship regional news service Spotlight, the opt-out service BBC Channel Islands, the topical magazine programme Inside Out and a 20-minute...
.
News career
Bowerman joined Sky NewsSky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
in 1997 as a producer. She went on to become and presenter and reporter for Sky and an occasional presenter for CNN International
CNN International
CNN International is an international English language television network that carries news, current affairs, politics, opinions, and business programming worldwide. CNN is one of the world's largest news organizations. It is owned by Time Warner, and is affiliated with CNN, which is mainly...
covering the Omagh bombing and the death of Mother Teresa. In 2000 Bowerman returned to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, this time in London, as the consumer
Consumer
Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...
correspondent
Correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
for the BBC News at One, BBC News at Six and the BBC News at Ten carrying out undercover filming and special investigations (fears over mobile phone masts; misleading advertising; dangers of hidden salt in food; availability of prescription medicines online). She also reported for BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
and BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
. In 2003 Bowerman worked for BBC Programmes for a few years before returning as the business, personal finance & consumer presenter for BBC News.
Programmes
Bowerman presented films for Weekend WatchdogWatchdog
Watchdog may refer to:Dog*Guard dog, a dog that barks to alert its owners of an intruder's presenceIn computing* Watchdog timer, a device in computer softwareConsumer protection...
, Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
, BBC 2's travel show Fast:track (now broadcast on BBC World) and Carlton Country. In 2003 she joined the Heaven and Earth Show which she regularly produced. She also conceived and co-produced Let's Test the Nation's Morals a one-off show broadcast by BBC Religion & Ethics in front of a live audience. In 2004 she became a presenter on BBC Northern Ireland's Consumer show, Fair Play, exposing rogue traders
Rogue Traders
Rogue Traders are an Australian electronic pop rock band fronted by Melinda "Mindi" Jackson with James Ash on keyboards, Tim Henwood on guitars and Peter Marin on drums. The group's original members met in London in 1989. Before forming Rogue Traders, Ash and Davis worked together on many...
through undercover filming. Some of her investigations resulted in court action against those involved.
Adventure & Eco travel
Since 2007 Bowerman has worked for BBC World TV's travel show Fast Track where she filmed her experiences zip lining through the Ecuadorean Andes, rafting down the Grand Canyon and various eco tourism initiatives. In 2007 she was one of just six national journalists to be offered a seat on the inaugural flight of the A380 superjumbo from SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Bowerman is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers
British Guild of Travel Writers
The British Guild of Travel Writers was formed in 1960. It is a membership organisation that admits authors whose work focuses on travel. It also includes among its membership many other professionals who generate travel-related content for print, broadcast and online media...
and was shortlisted (one of three) for the Travel Broadcast Journalist of the year in the Kingley Travel Press Awards, 2009.
The wrong guy
Bowerman's infamous claim to fame was interviewing the wrong guy, Guy GomaGuy Goma
Guy Goma is a business studies graduate from Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo who gained international fame when he was accidentally interviewed live on BBC News 24, a UK television news station, on Monday 8th May 2006.-The interview:...
on BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
when she was the News Channel's business, personal finance & consumer presenter. Goma was an unsuspecting applicant for an IT job who thought the interview on Apple Computers was part of the BBC's interview process. Bowerman's editor said her sixth sense suggested something was wrong but that there was so much going on her communication to him got lost as they went live.
Bowerman was told to keep the man talking while producers scrambled to get another guest lined up. The story gave Fleet Street and the international press a good run for their money. The BBC said Bowerman "deserved a medal" for her handling of the affair.