Karen Anderson

Karen Anderson is an award-winning journalist and a member of WCVB's 5 Investigates.

Since joining the station’s investigative unit in 2014, she has broken numerous high-profile stories and has exposed some of the largest issues facing communities across the state.

Her work uncovering the existence of thousands of untested rape kits in Massachusetts led to a law being passed in 2021 requiring their testing.

Her reporting exposed the gap in how people with disabilities are protected in Massachusetts which allowed caregivers accused of abuse, but never arrested or convicted, to remain working in the industry. A law was passed in 2020 to create a registry of employees to track abusers and prevent them from hurting other adults with disabilities.

Other investigations have exposed racial inequities in police departments, private constables acting as law enforcement with no oversight, and alleged victims of domestic violence criminally charged with wiretapping.

In her career, Karen has worked as an investigative, political, and general assignment reporter. She has covered the biggest stories in the region including the local response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Boston Marathon Bombing, the arrest of Boston mobster Whitey Bulger, the opioid crisis, and the deadly nationwide meningitis outbreak caused by the New England Compounding Center.

Prior to working at WCVB, she was a reporter at WBZ-TV in Boston, WMUR-TV in Manchester, NH, and KTXS News in Abilene, TX.

Karen grew up in Concord, MA and graduated from Brown University, where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in History. In her free time, she enjoys golf, skiing, waterskiing, and cheering on Boston sports teams. She lives with her family in the Greater Boston area.