Former King 5 Anchor Carolyn Douglas Is an Edmonds Kind of Girl

Carolyn Douglas has a thousand-watt smile.

Sitting across from her in the brand new office complex at the corner of Third and Dayton in Edmonds, my initial nervousness about interviewing her (she’s a local celebrity, after all) was soon banished as Douglas launched into a series of questions about me.

Once a reporter, always a reporter.

Her effervescent cheerfulness is contagious, and soon we were lost in journalistic discourse, chatting about her career, why she left KING 5 and what makes Edmonds such a wonderful place to live. 

Douglas was born and raised in Edmonds, and she and her six siblings attended elementary and middle school at . She recalls being out and about in the community at a young age when her father, Michael Herb, was running for a position on the Edmonds City Council and had all six children out ringing doorbells for his campaign.

Douglas attended Bishop Blanchet High School in Seattle, then enrolled as a broadcast major at Washington State University. After graduating in 1991, she worked at a series of news stations around the Pacific Northwest and spent time in Florida as an affiliate for ABC. One of her most prominent positions was as an anchor on KING TV for more than 10 years. She was a familiar presence on the noon news.

“I started at KING in ’98,” she recalled, “and my contract happened to be up on my birthday in November 2010. We already had one son, and we decided to adopt a second from Korea. It was a two-year-long process.” 

She may have left the small screen, but Douglas is not one to sit idle. She launched her own PR firm, Carolyn Douglas Communications, and continued to embrace her love of storytelling. With her communication savvy and connections, Douglas helps get the word out about great organizations, interesting people and local events.

One of her first clients was , a company focused on helping military men and women reintegrate into civilian society and navigate through the maze of social services available to them. 

“I love helping people get their stories on the news,” she said. “I can do that just as effectively from the other side of the anchor desk and let the focus be on my clients and not just me.”

In addition to her PR firm, Douglas also helped launch and promote University of Washington TV and now is the host of a weekly show called UW 360, which she describes as “the UW’s version of Evening Magazine, but centered on the campus.” In her broadcasts, she covers areas ranging from sports to academics to current scientific research, as well as interesting finds from the UW archives. 

She may be doing a lot of work in Seattle, but Douglas never forgets her hometown.

“I love Edmonds, and I truly think it is the greatest place on earth,” she said. “I got out and lived in 10 different cities, and by living in different states, especially on the East Coast, I feel like I got to see a huge chunk of our country. But there is no better town than our own. There is no better way to appreciate it than by leaving for a while.”

Douglas says Edmonds is a fabulous place to grow up, and that’s one reason she's raising her family here. Her oldest son attends her alma mater, Holy Rosary, and on top of her work and involvement with the Music Matters Live fundraiser, Douglas finds time to give back to the community through her support of the .

Amid the craziness of work and motherhood, Douglas keeps on laughing and enjoying life.

After all, she may be an Emmy award-winning journalist, but she’s still an Edmonds kind of girl.