Elaine Clark named news director, Andrew Becker to lead investigative initiative; Newsroom editor, external communications staff join KUER team
New leadership roles, new positions and a new investigative reporting initiative are coming to KUER, the station announced today. The plan includes new staff for KUER News and external communications, as well as new responsibilities for the NPR member station’s current editorial leaders.
Effective today, Elaine Clark will step into the role of news director, KUER News. Clark will oversee KUER’s daily newsroom, as well as the long-term vision and strategy for news coverage and platforms. Andrew Becker will step into a new role as executive editor for special projects, leading the development of a KUER-based investigative reporting initiative and expanding the statewide bureau project he launched in 2019.
“KUER is at an inflection point. We’re committed to providing rich, relevant daily journalism for all Utahns. We’re also compelled to answer the call for in-depth, watchdog reporting that this state so urgently needs,” said KUER Station Manager Joel Meyer. “Elaine and Andy will draw upon their respective wealth of skills and experience to elevate KUER and our listeners to new heights.”
Clark is currently the newsroom’s managing editor. From 2004 to 2019, she was a producer on KUER’s flagship interview program, RadioWest, with Doug Fabrizio. “Storytelling is at the heart of everything we do here at KUER – from long-form conversations and produced features to daily newscasts,” Clark said. “I’m excited to help tell those stories about Utah and to take on the challenges of steering our talented news team.”
As news director, Becker led an expansion of the KUER newsroom and opened two bureaus in southern Utah. (A third will open in central Utah this summer.) Prior to KUER, Becker worked for more than a decade as an investigative reporter with The Center for Investigative Reporting and the public radio program Reveal.
Updated June 5, 2020: Due to reporting projects, the opening of KUER's central Utah bureau will be postponed until late 2020 or shortly thereafter.
“KUER’s investigative initiative is in a nascent stage – for now,” Becker said. “The blueprints we’re drawing will lead us to stories and reporting that will aim to bring more sunlight and accountability to Utah.”
In addition, KUER announced two new hires on Monday. Ross Terrell joins KUER News as its new editor. Previously, Terrell worked as a reporter and producer for Georgia Public Broadcasting, WABE Atlanta and Wisconsin Public Radio in Milwaukee.
Katherine Ellis is KUER’s new communications specialist, with responsibilities for messaging the station’s news mission and initiatives to donors and listeners. A Utah native, Ellis has worked at the intersection of news and marketing for news analytics firm NewsWhip in New York and the American Press Institute in Washington, D.C. She’s a graduate of the University of Utah and NPR’s NextGenRadio digital journalism and audio training project.