Beverly Kirk Profile

Every weekday, Beverly Kirk goes on camera, making sure America’s top policymakers have the latest news before them.

Kirk is an anchor at Washington, D.C.'s local version of CNN, NewsChannel 8, where she heads "The Washington Report," "Virginia Report," "Federal News Report," "The 9 O’Clock NewsHour" and "The Latenight Report."

It’s a job that hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians will remember Kirk performing for them, back in the early to mid 1990s when she anchored WLEX-TV’s "Sunrise" program.  Each morning, she reported the news and shared banter about central Kentucky activities in ways that made her a favorite newscaster.

The Cumberland County, Ky., native and University of Kentucky alumna returns to Lexington to address UK’s 141st Commencement at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 4, at Rupp Arena.

Kirk, a self-described "black woman from the hills" who earned her master’s degree at UK’s Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce in 1996, will share the wisdom garnered from covering major events, from the impeachment of President Clinton to the 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon.

Her involvement in the latter story shows the unpredictability of her profession.  She started the day dressed in a pantsuit in anticipation of a scheduled interview with basketball great Michael Jordan.  By the time she reached her office, her car’s radio had announced two airliners had crashed into World Trade Centers North and South.

"I’m running across the east front of the Capitol as fast as I can.  Of course, I’m not dressed for this.  I happened to stop, and I noticed smoke on the horizon.  About that time, my beeper went off and said, ’A plane has hit the Pentagon.  You need to go to the Pentagon,’" Kirk recalls.

There, she did live shots for NBC affiliate stations through the afternoon and early evening. 

The event prompted what Kirk calls "a heart-stopping crisis moment" leading her to wonder whether she’d made the right career choice.  After a few weeks in which she took time away, she found herself drawn back to news, first on "PBS/NPR Newsbrief" and now on NewsChannel 8.

Not too shabby for someone who describes herself proudly as "a black woman from the hills.  I think those two things are assets that have made me the person that I am."

And Kirk has this offer for anyone who doubts her sincerity in that description:

"You ought to come home with me some time to Kentucky."