For Jared Bowen, his “very unlikely’’ journey to covering arts for WGBH-TV and winning two Emmys began as a teenager watching the 5 ’clock news in his family’s living room in little, out-of-the-way Upton.
He found “such allure’’ in news anchor Natalie Jacobson’s and Chet Curtis’ reports he became editor of the school newspaper at Nipmuc Regional High School, writing editorials about school affairs and reviewing the film “Groundhog Day.’’
“I think I always had a sense of what I wanted to do,’’ he said shortly before taping a segment of “Caught in the Act’’ for the Thursday evening “Greater Boston’’ show with Emily Rooney. “From the age of 16, I knew I wanted to do the news.’’
That passion led to Emerson College, an internship with Dateline in New York and then a job at WGBH-TV in Boston.
Since joining the nightly news magazine “Greater Boston’’ in 1998, Bowen has become Boston television’s only full-time arts reporter and one of its most visible and respected journalists.
He credited his parents, Cheryl and Peter Bowen, with instilling “great ethics, morals and values’’ that were reinforced at college and WGBH, where he’s spent most of his career working with Rooney.
“She’ll hate it that I say it but Emily has been my mother who raised me journalistically,’’ said Bowen.
On Feb. 19, he’ll receive a Commonwealth Award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council for “his cornerstone arts reporting’’ on television and on Boston Public Radio and Morning Edition. Other winners include actress Olympia Dukakis, the EcoTarium museum in Worcester and others.
Rooney said, “I’m just so proud of Jared. Imagine getting the Commonwealth Award and joining the ranks of someone like YoYo Ma. (Jared) deserves it after years of arduous dedication to the local arts scene from the mainstream to the obscure.’’
Starting next month, Bowen will expand the horizons of his arts coverage.
On Feb. 8 he will premiere on WGBH 2 as host of “Open Studio with Jared Bowen’’ a half-hour, weekly “national art show with a local accent.’’
It will feature stories, performances and material from a WNET-led arts collaborative with Bowen introducing each segment and providing local content.
Whether writing about “Invisible Man’’ at the Huntington Theatre, Boston schools or Whitey Bulger, Bowen said “first and foremost, I consider myself a journalist.’’
“I have a passion for telling stories. And I carry a hefty dose of skepticism into everything I do,’’ he said.
Reviewing shows and exhibits, Bowen tries to balance critical judgments with enough informative “context’’ so readers can decide on their own whether to see it.
“I try to put out as much information as I can. … I see judgment as an equal part of the pie because in these economic times I realize a lot of people have to spend their money wisely. If I see something that doesn’t merit attendance, I’ll speak out about it,’’ he said.
Looking back, Bowen believes the arts “found’’ him as an “insatiably curious’’ teenager in Upton and never let go.
He was intrigued by the Broadway playbills his English teacher Linda Wilde hung on the bulletin board, and he dreamed of reviewing shows some day.
He joined the school drama club and played King Charming in “Cinderella Wore Combat Boots.’’ It might not have been Shakespeare, but it nurtured an expanding interest in theater, film, visual arts and dance that’s never stopped.
Bowen said, “That’s what I think is so interesting about the arts: it can find you. Somehow it reaches out and seeps into your life. It grabs you and doesn’t let you go.’’
Former Nipmuc faculty members, Wilde and drama adviser Susan Hoar, say they’re moved by his success.
Bowen has remained in touch and cited them as positive influences.
A retired teacher and librarian living in Mendon, Hoar remembered Bowen as “someone who was very special and very motivated who you knew was going to be highly successful.’’
A Framingham resident now retired from teaching, Wilde said Bowen found the time to speak at a luncheon series at Regis College she’s involved with.
And when he was hosting a Boston Theater Critics Association event that was giving an award to one of her favorite performers, Tommy Tune, Bowen invited Wilde and her husband, made special arrangements for them to get great seats and mentioned her influence to Tune who wrote her a kind note.
“I am touched after all these years by how Jared remembers his friends,’’ said Wilde.
As the awards roll in and his duties expand, Bowen said he’s grateful. “I’m able to draw attention to the arts and engage people in the arts at a critical time when funding and general coverage have been decreasing because of the economy.
“The fact that I’ve been able to keep the community engaged in the arts through my small part make me most proud,’’ he said.
Daily News staff writer Chris Bergeron can be reached at 508-626-4448 or cbergeron@wickedlocal.com.
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