Karen Coleman

A former BBC war correspondent, Karen presents the Wide Angle radio show on Newstalk106-108 every Sunday morning. Described by the Irish Independent as "one of the finest shows on Irish radio" the Wide Angle's mix of panel discussions, reports and interviews on Irish and International affairs guarantees an entertaining show.


Karen has one of the most impressive contacts lists in Irish broadcasting. From prime ministers and presidents to Nobel peace-prize winners and rock stars, she has interviewed some of the world's most fascinating people.


Recent guests of Karen's have included Seymour Hersh, Jesse Jackson, Sidney Blumenthal, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Shirin Ebadi, Mohamed ElBaradei, Hans Blix, Javier Solana, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Paul Rusesabagina and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.


During her exciting career, Karen has dodged bullets in frontlines, covered dangerous riots in Indonesia, been beaten up by angry Serbs, come under mortar fire in Israel, robbed of all of her belongings and witnessed some of mankind's most cruel and inspiring acts.


Born and reared on a farm in County Cork, Karen's considerable career has taken her from the troubled streets of Belfast to war-torn Sarajevo and the Gaza Strip.


Karen began her broadcasting career with RTE in 1990 after graduating from UCD and DCU. A curiosity to find out more about the troubles in Northern Ireland prompted her to move to Belfast where she began her work with the BBC. She then moved to BBC Scotland where she worked as a radio and television producer and reporter.


When the war in Yugoslavia broke out in the 1990s, Karen was determined to cover this horrific conflict on Europe's doorsteps. She was headhunted by the United Nations to work as a television director with UNTV in Croatia in 1995. Karen then began reporting for the BBC following NATO's assumption of military responsibilities from the UN after the Dayton Peace Agreement was forged in1995. She went on to spend the following three years reporting from the Balkans including the outbreak of war in Kosovo in 1997/98.


After an extraordinary stint abroad, Karen returned to Ireland in 1999. Since then, she has worked on assignments all over the world. She is particularly acclaimed for her work in the Middle East where she has made several documentaries on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and the effects of the Israeli security barrier in the West Bank. She is currently writing a book on the Middle East. When Newstalk was being set up in 2002, the station asked Karen to become one of its presenters.


Karen writes regular articles for newspapers and magazines and appears as a commentator on Irish television. Her articles have been published in the Irish Times, the Sunday Tribune, the Irish Independent, the Sunday Business Post and the Daily Mail. She also has a regular column for Business and Finance. Her television appearances have included the RTE Late Late Show, Questions and Answers, Seoige/O'Shea and TV3 News.