Brien Blakely anchors the 5, 6, and 10 pm newscasts with Alicia Barnes.
Brien is a ‘news junkie,’ and is known for his tireless work ethic, community involvement, and commitment to win. He has won numerous Murrow and Emmy Awards for his work, both on the anchor desk and reporting in the field. You can always find Brien at the center of Queen City News’ coverage of all the major events happening across the Carolinas: from Breaking News to politics to severe weather, and sports.
Brien is heavily involved in the community hosting or emceeing charity events and he serves on several local Boards of Directors. He helps lead the annual CMPD Toy Drive, our station’s most committed community project. “We’ve helped put smiles on thousands of child faces at Christmas time who didn’t expect it.”
He runs ‘Find A Fugitive,’ a highly successful public safety franchise with local area Crime Stoppers on Queen City News where fugitives of the law are spotlighted and captured.
This is Brien’s second stint in Charlotte. Before coming back to the Carolinas he worked for the FOX station in Seattle, KCPQ. He’s also worked in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, and Bristol, Va. Brien spent a portion of his career in Hollywood where he hosted numerous TV shows including HGTV’s Weekend Warriors, E! News Daily, The National Enquirer TV Show, BattleDome, and he’s appeared on network TV shows such as The Practice, Roswell, and the X-Files. “I’m still collecting residual checks. I think my last one was for .74 cents,” said Brien.
Brien went to Western Kentucky University. He’s a former baseball player, drafted by the Cincinnati Reds, and worked in the front office of the Atlanta Braves before moving on to TV News. Every now and then you can catch Brien filling in as a guest color commentator on the Knights broadcast on our sister station WMYT.
“I love the Carolinas and Charlotte, it’s not too big, not too small and it’s a great place to raise a family,” said Brien. He and his wife Ava have one son, Wes, and a dog, Kobe, a little Shih Tzu. If he’s not on the golf course playing bad golf, then he’s likely hosting a pool/BBQ party for friends and their kids.
