User:Sanfranvolley/DaveKarraker

Dave Karraker

Dave Karraker is an EMMY Award-winning communications professional, actor, comedian and former television news reporter.

Broadcast Journalism Karraker started his career working as a reporter and anchor for National Public Radio station KCSN-FM in Los Angeles, as well as KFWB-FM. He won an Academy of Television Arts and Sciences EMMY Award and California Press Association Award for his work on the documentary "Crimes of Cowardice," which detailed hate crimes in a quiet suburb of Los Angeles. During this period, Karraker was also doing acting and could be seen in Showtime's controversial "Red Shoe Diaries."

Karraker was then the Santa Barbara bureau chief for the CBS affiliate television station KCOY-TV. His most notable story at this time involved the surprise delivery of Thanksgiving dinner to Bill Clinton, who was running for presidential office for the first time, as well as an interview with Barbara Bush where she dubbed herself "America's Debutant." Following his work in Santa Barbara, Karraker moved on to Reno, NV where he was a reporter and anchor at NBC affiliate KRNV-TV

Karraker moved into public relations in 1994, with a focus on consumer technology, namely Sega video game products. Karraker piloted the communications around the launch of Sega Dreamcast, a well-respected video game system that would end up being the final hardware released by Sega in the United States. Karraker also held the top communications post at Sony Computer Entertainment America, where he launched the controversial Playstation 3 video game system. It was at this time that Karraker initiated a much-talked-about "blackballing" of popular video game website Kotaku, following the leak of company information. That conflict was resolved shortly there after following an agreement between the two parties.

Karraker also held posts at Kmart Corporation, where he helped devise the communications strategy following Martha Stewart's insider-trading conviction, as well as the company's bankruptcy in 2002. Karraker can be seen in the Michael Moore documentary "Bowling for Columbine" as part of the team responding to the documentary movie maker's accusations that Kmart sold the bullets used in the Colorado massacre. Kmart also helped manage communications at wine and spirits giant Allied Domecq when it was sold to Pernod Ricard and Fortune Brands in 2005.

Karraker is now an actor, comedian and communications professional living in San Francisco. His current work includes the "I Touch Celebrities" website, which chronicles Karraker's touching of unwitting celebrities.