Biography
Sharon Carpenter is an award-winning broadcast journalist who has built a stellar reputation through her reporting for the BBC, CBS, Black Entertainment Television (BET) and WPIX. She initially moved from England to New York City to study at Pace University and graduated magna cum laude, with a BBA degree in business management.
The daughter of two doctors (and former Harvard Medical School professors), Carpenter is best known for her work as an anchor/reporter for BET News and a contributing correspondent for the BBC News program BBC World News America. She can currently be seen on New York’s Tribune station, WPIX, doing special reports for PIX 11 Morning News.
Carpenter first made a name for herself while hosting BET’s daily news briefs, anchoring and producing hard-hitting specials and making appearances on its top-rated entertainment show 106 & Park to deliver breaking news.
Throughout her career Carpenter has focused primarily on pop culture, distilling the latest in both mainstream entertainment and cutting-edge trends. But she’s also known for her coverage of international issues, financial news and politics.
When Wyclef Jean announced his plans to run for president of Haiti in 2010, Carpenter was able to score his first television sit down interview to discuss his decision, for the BBC. In her live coverage of the 2008 US presidential election, Carpenter provided expert commentary and analysis from Senator John McCain’s headquarters.
When the sudden death of pop icon Michael Jackson shook the world, Carpenter played a lead role in BET’s coverage, delivering the details live from Los Angeles and anchoring the network’s key special reports, including Forever the King: A Tribute to Michael Jackson, which garnered record ratings.
Carpenter played an integral role in the launch of BET in the United Kingdom and anchored and produced its first news special, Beauty Blackout; a 30-minute documentary that explores discriminatory standards of beauty.
Carpenter has interviewed a diverse list of A-list interview subjects including Oprah Winfrey, Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling, Lindsay Lohan, Julianne Moore, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Johnny Depp and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Starting in broadcast news as a field producer for WWOR-TV, she quickly worked her way up to a producer position at BET Nightly News/CBS News. Before rejoining BET as an on-air correspondent and host, Carpenter made use of her expertise in business management as a reporter for CBS MarketWatch.
Carpenter has received four awards from the New York Association of Black Journalists as well as a Telly Award for her reporting and she has been featured in such publications as the New York Post, Sky, Right On and Trace magazines as well as London’s Evening Standard. She was also featured in Vibe Magazine’s top-selling “Juice issue” with President Barack Obama on the cover.
Carpenter resides in New York City.
