Ted Clark Retires from NPR

The following is a notice that was sent to NPR staff by NPR Correspondent, Investigations Howard Berkes, and is reprinted with permission.

Many of you, especially younger NPR staffers, may not know much about our departing foreign desk colleague Ted Clark. 

In 1982, eight NPR reporters filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board because NPR “employed” them as contractors at a fraction of staff reporter pay and with no benefits. This group included some of NPR’s most productive reporters, and the control exercised by NPR fit IRS and National Labor Relations Act definitions of employees, not contractors. 

As one of the complainants and ringleaders, I was in the room in Washington as the first NLRB hearing began. So was Ted Clark, and he sat behind me and the AFTRA lawyer, Tom Powers and executive Don Gaynor, who were handling the case. Ted was the sole NPR editor brave enough to testify on our behalf. As a White House correspondent and ATC editor, Ted was ready to say that our work was equal to the work of staff reporters and that we were required to meet the same standards and expectations. Other editors told us they were afraid to testify. They feared retribution by management. Ted stuck his highly respected neck out for us, and his presence alone in that hearing room made all the difference.

The NPR manager in the room took one look at Ted and blanched. There was some whispering with the NPR lawyers. The NLRB hearing officer arrived and asked NPR’s representatives if a settlement was possible. “Yes,” the NPR lawyer said. We were hired as full staff on the spot. 

We call each other colleagues but there is no greater test of collegiality than sticking up for each other, even at some personal and professional risk. Ted was not alone among senior NPR staffers championing our cause. Nina Totenberg, Cokie Roberts and others used their considerable influence to argue our case at the highest levels of NPR, but the company resisted. As a show editor and correspondent, Ted was positioned to provide critical testimony in the hearing room, and he didn’t hesitate to appear.

Ted moves on from NPR, but he leaves behind a legacy of commitment and collegiality we should all try to emulate. He did the right thing at the critical moment. There are many reasons to celebrate Ted’s NPR career. This is one you didn’t likely know about but should. Ted helped make eight NPR careers possible. He taught me a lifelong lesson about standing up for what is right.

Many, many thanks Ted.