Follow WBURKaren Given
Karen has worked in radio since she was 16 years old, getting her start at a small commercial music station in Joshua Tree, California. Her favorite part of the job was reading the news updates at the top of every hour.
She came to WBUR in 1991 as a student at Boston University. In her years at B.U., Karen earned degrees in Political Science and Broadcast Journalism and expanded her radio skills with a work study job in WBUR’s audio engineering department. Eventually she was hired on as the Technical Director for Only A Game and Car Talk.
Karen made the transition from technical to editorial by way of Reno, Nevada, where she spent a year as the only feature news reporter for Reno’s public radio station, KUNR. With her newly acquired reporting skills, Karen returned to WBUR as a producer and reporter for Only A Game.
During her tenure with Only A Game, Karen has covered the Salt Lake City Olympics and the first regular season NFL game in London, but her most ambitious story to date was a profile of a town in the Rift Valley where most of Kenya’s elite long distance runners live and train. That story, “Kenya’s Fastest Town,” won the 2007 national Edward R. Murrow Award for Sports Reporting.
Budgets And Box Scores: Funding Sports In Boston Public Schools
May 18, 2013
Over the past decade, while Boston’s pro sports teams were hoisting Lombardi and O’Brien, ending Babe Ruth’s curse, and drinking from Lord Stanley’s Cup, Boston’s public school soccer teams were practicing without a goal. OAG’s Karen Given and Doug Tribou examine the unusual public-private partnerships that are turning things around.
Boston School Sports ‘Turning The Tide,’ Superintendent Says
May 17, 2013BOSTON — We close our special series on Boston school sports with undiscussed questions and a look at the way forward.
Grades-To-Play Motivation Propels Some Boston Student-Athletes
May 16, 2013
BOSTON — In sports there are scores and records. In school there are tests and grades. And for Boston students participating in the school district’s privately funded sports programs, all of those are important.
Charities Try To Keep Boston Student-Athletes In The Academic ‘Zone’ Too
May 15, 2013
BOSTON — Play Ball! and Boston Scholar Athletes fund school athletic programs and work to make sure students are meeting GPA requirements to participate. But some say the city’s requirements should be more challenging.
The 2 Private Organizations That Have Changed Boston's Public School Sports
May 14, 2013
The Play Ball! Foundation and the Boston Scholar Athlete Program have brought funding to the city’s athletics programs, but they didn’t just cut checks and walk away.
How Boston Public School Sports Have Improved In 4 Years
May 13, 2013
After a scathing report on the state of sports in Boston Public Schools, two community leaders stepped up to pitch in. In Part 1 of a weeklong series, we track the school system’s progress and ask: Is the outside help enough?
One Fund Boston: Lessons From Public Radio
April 25, 2013
In less than two weeks, nearly $24 million has been raised for the One Fund, a charity founded by the City of Boston to help the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. But, Only A Game’s Karen Given wonders how much could have been raised, if the charity had followed the example set by public radio.
Sox’ Fenway Sellout Streak Ends
April 10, 2013
BOSTON — With an official attendance figure of 30,862, the Red Sox sellout streak at Fenway Park ended Wednesday night a few thousand short of the ballpark’s 37,500 capacity.
World Synchro Championships Boast 16 Matching Marilyn Monroes
April 06, 2013
The 2013 World Synchronized Skating Championships are being held this weekend in Boston. Only A Game’s Karen Given couldn’t resist the urge to drop in on the rapidly growing sport for a short visit.
High School Boys Gymnastics Fighting For Survival
February 09, 2013
After this season, boys gymnastics will no longer be sanctioned in Massachusetts, leaving just three states that offer the sport at a true varsity level. Proponents of the sport are unhappy with decision. Only A Game’s Karen Given has the story.