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PRESSROOM MATERIALS
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NCPB Press Kit
NCPB overview, history, division and management information
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Media Usage Policy
photo & document rights,
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PRESS CONTACTS
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Contacts for journalists and reporters only. For information about contacting KQED, please visit the Contact Us page. Please send press releases or news story ideas directly to KQED Radio Programs contacts.
Scott Walton, Executive Director of Communications
415.553.2145
swalton@ncpb.com
Yoon Lee, Director of Media Relations & Promotions
415.553.3338
ylee@kqed.org
Meredith Gandy, Associate Publicist
415.553.2116
mgandy@kqed.org
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| KQED Public Broadcasting Names Jeff Clarke New President and CEO |
National Broadcasting Leader to Helm of Bay Area's Public Multimedia Resource
Wisconsin Native and HoustonPBS Veteran's Expertise in Content, Community and Fundraising Key
San Francisco, California, April 17, 2002 -- The board of directors unanimously voted to approve Jeff Clarke today as the next president and CEO of KQED Public Broadcasting. The announcement came at a special meeting of the KQED board, following an extensive national search. Clarke is currently chief executive officer and general manager of KUHT, HoustonPBS, in Houston, Texas, a position that he has held since 1992. Clarke succeeds Mary G.F. Bitterman, who left KQED in February to assume the post of president and CEO of The James Irvine Foundation. Effective June 10, Clarke will lead KQED Public Television 9 and Digital Television 9; KQED Public Radio 88.5 FM; the KQED Education Network; and KQED Interactive at KQED.org.
In making the announcement this afternoon, Kermit H. Boston, chair of KQED's board of directors and leader of the executive search committee stated, "I am delighted with the appointment of Jeff Clarke as our new KQED president and chief executive officer. He brings to this post a unique complement of relevant skills, expertise and experience that will help to propel KQED to new heights. Listeners, viewers, members, affiliated organizations and educational institutions in the Bay Area and beyond can look forward to working with a proven leader and trailblazer in public broadcasting."
"We were fortunate to have exceptionally qualified applicants from our national search, and the search committee unanimously concluded that Clarke demonstrated outstanding personal and professional abilities that met our needs and expectations for success," Boston continued. "KQED is poised for growth, and Clarke is best suited to move us forward."
"I am honored to have been selected as the new president and chief executive officer of KQED and to have the opportunity to build on the achievements and legacy of former president and CEO Mary Bitterman and the KQED staff," noted Clarke. "I look forward to working with my KQED colleagues and the board to advance KQED's distinctive role as a vital community resource and key contributor to NPR (National Public Radio) and PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) national programming. KQED has justly earned a national reputation for excellence. It is a privilege to lead such a respected organization."
Clarke, 54, has a broadcasting career that spans 37 years with more than 24 years in public broadcasting. At KUHT, HoustonPBS, he led a successful capital campaign to support digital conversion and build a brand new state-of-the-art facility, the LeRoy and Lucile Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting, which houses both KUHT public television and KUHF public radio. He has been instrumental in supporting KUHT's local, national and international television productions, including the Emmy Award–winning daily program Weekday, which brings the diverse voices of Houston to the air, and From Prison to Power, which documented the rise to power of Taiwan vice president Annette Lu.
Prior to coming to KUHT in 1992, Clarke served as associate director of television and acting development director for Wisconsin Public Television, a six-station public television network. He also has served as director of programming and production at WHA-TV, Madison, Wisconsin, as executive producer of the national PBS series The New Tech Times, and manager of news and public affairs at KETC, St. Louis, Missouri.
Clarke currently is a member of the PBS board of directors and serves on the executive, membership and compensation committees; he is chair of the technology and distribution committee. He also serves on the board of directors of National Datacast, a subsidiary of PBS Enterprises, Inc. In addition, Clarke has served on the board of America's Public Television Stations (APTS), the Southern Educational Communications Association (SECA) and Central Educational Network (CEN).
Clarke has won numerous awards in his distinguished career, including five local Emmy nominations; a silver medal from the New York International Film Festival for the national PBS series The New Tech Times; Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) local program awards; and numerous Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) news awards during his career as a television anchor and correspondent.
Clarke also has demonstrated a significant commitment to community involvement and volunteerism. His community service in Houston includes volunteer work for the Make-A-Wish Foundation; board member and past president of Taping for the Blind; board member of the Houston Rotary Club; and advisory board member for the Limbs of Love Foundation. Clarke is a senior fellow of the American Leadership Forum (AFL), and was elected to the Community Arts Council of Houston and Harris County (CACHH) board of directors in 1998 for a two-year term.
Clarke graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a B.A. in radio, television and film. He earned an M.A. in mass communications arts from the University of Wisconsin. He will relocate from Houston with his wife Gail, a registered nurse.
KQED operates KQED Public Television 9, the nation's most-watched public television station, and Digital Television 30, Northern California's only public television digital signal; KQED Public Radio 88.5 FM, the most-listened-to public radio station in the nation; the KQED Education Network, which brings the impact of KQED to thousands of teachers, students, parents and media professionals through workshops, seminars and resources; and KQED.org, which harnesses the power of the Internet to bring KQED to communities across the Web.
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