Karen Drew can be seen Monday through Friday on Local 4 News. She spends her time busting the bad guys during her investigative reports.
Karen really is an integral part of the news team – kind of a jack of all trades. Whether she is scuba diving with police looking for evidence of a cold case murder, escaping a burning house with the help of local fire departments to show the best way to avoid the flames, or hiding out doing surveillance following scammers and lawbreakers Karen sure keeps busy.
She has recently been busy uncovering mismanagement at a local Children’s Psychiatric Hospital, exposing a contractor with violations at local cemeteries where families could not find their loved ones bodies, holding Detroit Animal Car accountable, exposed Detroit’s broken fire hydrant issue and got the issue solved within months, and did many in depth reports on Line 5 and how it affects all of us in Michigan.
When Karen was young she told her classmates in high school she wanted to be a TV Reporter …. Most believed she would follow her dream nominating her as Most Determined. But others weren't so sure … nominating her as Class Clown. Her co-workers at WDIV will vouch for her --- she sure does work hard, but you can also find Karen behind the scenes of many pranks in the newsroom!
The oldest of two, Karen grew up in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago and attended Southern Illinois University. She graduated with a degree in Radio TV Communications and started her career in Dickinson, North Dakota as a one man band. ( Basically she shot her own stories, wrote them, edited them, anchored the newscasts, and yes even did the cleaning in the newsroom!)
Karen then moved on to Montgomery, Alabama WHOA-TV , then to WTVC-TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee, next to WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, Florida , and finally found a place she could really call home here at WDIV-TV.
Karen has won numerous awards including Emmy's, awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, Society of Professional Journalists, as well as awards and recognitions from a variety of non-profits she works with volunteering her time. She was also part of the winning team for the Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for best newscast in 2022.
When she isn’t on camera, or behind the scenes doing her investigative work you will find Karen with her two daughters watching them play travel soccer, or basketball, or softball. Karen loves running, reading, hiking, travel, sunsets, sporting events, and visiting friends all around the country. You will always hear Karen say “ When is the last time you did something for the first time ?” She is always up for adventure!
KAREN'S FAVORITE 4
Favorite Vacation Spot in Michigan: Charlevoix
Favorite Book: Too many to list!
Favorite Movie: It's a Wonderful Life
Favorite Song: "Haven't Met You Yet" by Michael Buble
