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Photo: Daniel Peck Photography/Peck Studios

Brian Karem 

White House Reporter/Columnist

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Brian J. Karem is an award-winning journalist, Emmy-nominated reporter and author of seven books. 

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Brian Karem is a veteran White House correspondent and former senior correspondent for Playboy Magazine. He currently writes a weekly column on the White House for Salon.com. He is also a regular contributor and columnist for The Washington Diplomat. He was the first guest on CNN's "Reliable Sources," 30 years ago with Bernard Kalb. He was the last guest on "Reliable Sources" with Brian Stetler on the last show. He appears frequently on the country's top-rated television news shows, as well as numerous radio shows throughout the U.Sl, Canada and Europe.

 

Karem is also a frequent guest on numerous radio shows throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. In 2022 he has traveled to both Beirut, Lebanon and to Ukraine for articles and an ongoing documentary about living in conflict zones. 

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His podcast, “Just Ask the Question,” generates high ratings through topical interviews with engaging, knowledgeable guests, including veteran journalist Sam Donaldson, Emmy-nominated comedian and singer Randy Rainbow and Hollywood legend Carl Reiner, among others.

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Karem is an accomplished First Amendment activist and has testified before numerous state legislatures as well as Congress in support of free speech and a federal shield law for reporters. He is the founder of the “First Jailbirds Club,'' celebrating the accomplishments of reporters who have gone to jail to protect the First Amendment, and is a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors, the National Press Club and the White House Press Corps.

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In addition, Karem is a recipient of numerous journalism awards, including the prestigious National Press Club Freedom of the Press Award and the Pieringer Award for Valor and Journalistic Excellence. Throughout his career, Karem has served on a number of volunteer boards. Currently, he is president of the Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia Press Association. 

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Karem has spoken, lectured and participated as a panelist at various college and university engagements as well as at many corporate and press events. He served as master of ceremonies for the Rene Moawad Foundation’s annual benefit gala and was a featured speaker at Detroit’s annual Images and Perceptions Diversity Conference. Karem has been the keynote speaker at several conferences, including Big Brothers Big Sisters in Louisville, Ky., and locally has moderated panel debates for candidates running for Congress, county executive and mayor, among others. 

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Other Career Highlights: 

• Nominated as “Journalist of the Year” in 2019 by the Los Angeles Press Club’s SoCal Journalism Awards.

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• Traveled the world covering  breaking news in several conflict zones, international terrorism, natural disasters and other major events as a former producer and television correspondent for “America’s Most Wanted.”

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• Received an Emmy nomination for best investigative work of the chemical compounds in “Dursban,” a formerly widely used pesticide, which resulted in national coverage and a ban on the product. 

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• Served as executive editor of the Sentinel Newspapers for 13 years during which he grew online presence by more than 500 percent. His efforts led to the MDDC’s prestigious “Newspaper of the Year” award for four out of six years.

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• Jailed four times for refusing to divulge a confidential source; his case ultimately went to the Supreme Court. “Karem vs. Priest” is now a textbook case in defending sources.

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Listed below are a few links to CNN appearances: ​

• CNN New Day: Reporter Fires back at White House Briefing  

• CNN Reliable Sources: Brian Karem "No Truth To Be Found In The PRESS ROOM" 

• WH Press Briefing: WH Reporter, Brian Karem rips into Sarah Huckabee After She Attacks Press 

• CNN Reliable Sources: TRUMP'S Reckless Tweets  

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SPEECH TOPICS (contact Barry Bookin at bookinbarry@gmail.com for speaking engagements and press interviews)

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• Free the Press. We all know the press is in bad shape. Author and Award-winning White House correspondent Brian Karem discusses how government and big business have conspired during the last 40 years to destroy journalism and he presents concrete options on how to save the profession. Audiences leave with a new understanding of how the press works and what they can do to be responsible news consumers.

• Deal with Politicians. Next to the press, politicians get most of the derision from the American public. Long-time award winning author, television personality, anchor and reporter Brian Karem talks about the problems of politics and how we can better understand and get involved in politics.

• Stories from the front lines. Humorous, dramatic and insightful. Award winning author, and reporter Brian Karem tells stories of covering news during the last 40 years. From illegal immigration to the hunt for Drug Kingpin Pablo Escobar. From City Hall to the White House. From high school to professional sports. From comedy and music to riots, insurrections and the Gulf War. Using humor and reality Brian talks about the nuance of news and how we’ve come to disassociate ourselves from the news we’re all involved in.

• All Together Now. Growing up a Middle-Eastern boy in a southern city, Karem underscores the stories and news that binds us all together and how we’ve lost the feeling of community as the news has declined in the last 40 years.