WHDH-TV reporter Kimberly Bookman announces plans to leave Channel 7 - The Boston Globe
After a dozen years at WHDH-TV, Kimberly Bookman, a reporter for Channel 7, is leaving the station this week, she announced Sunday on social media. “I’m proud of my contributions to 7news,” Bookman wrote in a statement to the Globe. “After 12 years of dedication, I’ve chosen to move on.” Tuesday will be her last day, she wrote in a Facebook post. While she has not publicly announced her next steps, she told the Globe she plans to stay local. Bookman grew up in Needham, according to her WHDH staff profile. She worked at WCVB (Channel 5) before beginning at WHDH in August 2014, and previously reported for WMUR-TV in Manchester, N.H., as well as outlets in Baltimore, Spartanburg, S.C., and Elmira, N.Y. She has reported on the Boston Marathon bombing and its aftermath, the arrest and trial of South Boston gangster Whitey Bulger, and a 2014 tornado in Worcester. More recently, she contributed to broadcasts on the trial of Brian Walshe, who was convicted in December of killing and dismembering his wife. Two weeks ago, according to posts Bookman made on X, she attended jury selection proceedings in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial, which is currently underway. “I always strived to be responsible in my reporting — knowing how important words are during challenging times, breaking news and on emotional subjects,” Bookman wrote in her Facebook post Sunday. She wrote that her 12 years at WHDH have been her longest stint at any job. According to her WHDH staff page, Bookman supports service programs and charities including Project Bread, The Home For Little Wanderers, The Pine Street Inn, and Dress for Success, as well as the Anti-Defamation League, an organization that advocates against antisemitism. She moderated a panel on antisemitism that included the former director of the ADL at Faneuil Hall in November 2011, the Globe reported. The Jewish Journal of Greater Boston published a profile of Bookman in April as she prepared to give a keynote speech at a donor event in Burlington for Hadassah Northern New England, a chapter of the national women’s Zionist organization. Bookman, who is Jewish, said in the article that she feels connected to Massachusetts’ Jewish communities and thinks she is “sort of known as the Jewish reporter in the Jewish community.” In the post announcing her departure, Bookman highlighted her work training new reporters at WHDH and running the station’s yearly clothing drive. “I am proud of my contributions here,” she wrote. Bookman’s departure from WHDH makes her the latest of many Boston-area television veterans to leave their stations — or, in some cases, TV news entirely — in recent years. In just the past several months, anchor Amanda Crawford left WHDH, WCVB’s meteorologist Mike Wankum announced his retirement, Drew Karedes ended nine years reporting for Boston 25 News, and WCVB reporter Matt Reed left the station for Spectrum News NECN. Bookman has not given a reason for her departure, but emphasized in her Facebook post that leaving was her choice. “I believe the best stories are the ones that keep unfolding,” she wrote on Facebook. “So, stay tuned … the next chapter is just beginning!" Ariela Lopez can be reached at ariela.lopez@globe.com. Follow her on X @ariela__lopez.