Journalist Kim Carrigan has built a broadcast career filled with nightly anchoring, 2 a.m. wake-up calls, major championship sports coverage and world travel.
Carrigan attended the University of Missouri-Columbia, where she earned a degree in radio, television and film journalism. She began her broadcasting career as a weekend anchor at KQTV in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Her career then took her to KMIZ-17 in Columbia, Missouri, for six months before heading to Jefferson City at KRCG-TV. After a stint at WHO 13 in Des Moines, Iowa, Carrigan ultimately found her news home in Boston.
She was a news anchor at WHDH-TV for seven years, at WBZ-TV for nearly three, and a co-host of Fox 25 Morning News for eight.
Carrigan has earned numerous honors including a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for best newscast in a major market and an Emmy from the New England Chapter for Best News Anchor. She now hosts Carrigan and Company, a weekly podcast featuring nationally recognized guests.
Now Carrigan is bringing her talents to the Swampscott Tides’ Fish Tales event.
“This is my second year emceeing. I was part of the inaugural Fish Tales,” Carrigan said. “I had such a great time and enjoyed it so much. I had no idea what to expect, and I was blown away by the whole experience.”
The event supports the Swampscott Tides, which has been covering the town for the past 10 months. The Swampscott Tides works to ensure readers receive accurate coverage of what’s happening in Swampscott, from School Committee meetings and the town budget to new business openings and community events.
“There are so many sources of news out there, and so many of these sources are not legitimate. First and foremost what’s important to me is legitimate journalism because I went to J-School at a time where that was pounded into me, where you don’t choose, you don’t have bias,” Carrigan said. “I think a paper like the Swampscott Tides is one that is coming to us in an unbiased way, and I also believe that no matter how many sources of the news there are in the world, people will always want to know what’s happening in their community, in their backyard, so it’s imperative that we support these local news sources so that people get to continue to know what’s happening in their universe.”
Fish Tales will be held on March 28 at 7 p.m. at the Swampscott High School.
“I’m so happy to be a part of it for a few reasons,” Carrigan said. “Swampscott is my home. This paper is so important to me because I live here, and I feel strongly about journalism obviously.”
Tickets are now available for the Fish Tales community event, celebrating local storytelling and supporting independent journalism. Carrigan will host the event, with speakers including Boston bass player Fran Sheehan, author and attorney Robert Jauron, magician Anton Andresen and former METCO student Naina Alves Varela.
“Someone gets up and they tell their tale, and in between, I have the opportunity to read some scenarios that people have written in the crowd,” Carrigan said. “They give people a piece of paper, and they pose questions. People write their answers which would be sort of their fish tale, if you will…I get to read these very clever, very interesting, very emotional responses from the crowd, so it’s interactive and that makes it a really cool night.”
For more information to buy tickets, visit swampscotttides.org/fishtales.
“I would urge people to come because there’s something for everyone,” Carrigan said. “It’s great to be there with your neighbors.”
