Sharon Carpenter

Sharon Carpenter (born 2 March 1982) is a British broadcast journalist, television host, and producer. She currently works as a journalist and host for REVOLT TV, an innovative new cable network by Sean 'Diddy' Combs. Carpenter initially made a name for herself as an anchor and reporter for Black Entertainment Television (BET) and BET International. She was the first British TV personality to represent the BET brand. She also received international attention for her news coverage as a correspondent for the BBC program “BBC World News America”. Carpenter co-created her first television show, the VH1 reality series “The Gossip Game” in 2013 and appeared as a main cast member. The show followed the lives and careers of seven female media personalities reporting on the hip-hop entertainment industry.

Carpenter has won four awards from the New York Association of Black Journalists (NYABJ). She currently lives in New York City, NY, and serves as an ambassador for GEORGE, a subsidiary of the British charity group St. George’s Society of New York.

Early Life and Education

Carpenter was born in England, the daughter and step-daughter of two doctors and former professors at Harvard Medical School. In 2000, she moved to New York City to attend Pace University. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) in business management.

Career

Carpenter began her career in broadcast news as an associate producer for WWOR-TV (my9 News) in New York City before moving on to work as a producer at BET Nightly News. She shortly transitioned to on-camera roles at BET, hosting the network’s daily news briefs, anchoring and producing news specials, and making appearances on 106 & Park, the network’s highest-rated entertainment show.

Sharon briefly left BET to work as a reporter for the financial news show CBS MarketWatch Weekend. She returned to BET in 2006 as an on-air correspondent and host. Her most notable accomplishments during this time include her coverage of the 2008 presidential election, providing political commentary and analysis on election night from the headquarters of Senator John McCain. Carpenter also played an integral role in BET’s coverage of the death of Michael Jackson in 2009. She reported on the event live from Los Angeles and anchored the network’s special reports, including the award-winning documentary Forever the King: A Tribute to Michael Jackson.^[1] She also helped spearhead the launch of BET in the United Kingdom and produced its first news special, Beauty Blackout, about discriminatory standards of beauty.

Carpenter left BET again in 2010 and joined BBC News as a contributing correspondent for BBC World News America. She was the first reporter to interview Wyclef Jean for television when he announced his plans to run for president of Haiti in 2010.^[2] Carpenter also worked as a reporter for the PIX 11 Morning News on New York’s Tribute station WPIX.

In 2012, Sharon joined GlobalGrind, a pop culture website owned by hip-hop media mogul Russell Simmons. The website focuses on news, fashion, music, and politics through the lens of hip-hop culture. Carpenter was hired to enhance and expand the site’s video content. Her stories have received up to 3000 hits per minute.^[3]

Today Sharon Carpenter is an on-air personality for Diddy's multi-genre, multi-platform music network, REVOLT TV where she hosts live news and entertainment programming.

The Gossip Game

Sharon Carpenter is the co-creator of and was a main cast member on the VH1 reality TV show, The Gossip Game. The show followed the careers and personal lives of seven female media professionals working in the urban entertainment industry as radio personalities, journalists, and bloggers. The seven cast members are Vivian Billings, Sharon Carpenter, K. Foxx, JasFly, Kimberly Osorio, Candice Williams, and Angela Yee. The show focused on the competitive nature of media coverage of entertainment industry, as well as the particular difficulties female media professionals face when working in a male-dominated field.^[4]

Carpenter developed the concept for the show with television producer Tone Boots. The show was produced by VH1 in conjunction with Magilla Entertainment, Mona Scott-Young, and District Media.^[3]

References

External links

• Official Site
• Sharon Carpenter on IMDb
• Wyclef Jean interview with Sharon Carpenter, BBC World News America
• The Starr Report, The New York Post, April 20, 2009 * "Mind Boggling with Broadcast Journalist, Sharon Carpenter"
• Zimbio.com
• List of BET VJs