Sandra Clark to lead WHYY’s radio, TV, and digital news operations

A managing editor at Philadelphia Media Network, publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com, has been named vice president for news and civic dialogue at WHYY.

When Sandra Clark joins WHYY on Aug. 22, she will manage all news gathering operations for radio, television, and digital media, and she will lead civic engagement efforts throughout Pennsylvania, Delaware, and South Jersey.

The move, announced to staff on Thursday morning, is an important one for WHYY’s news operation, which has been without permanent senior leadership since September, when Chris Satullo left the position. John Mussoni, who previously led WHYY’s Delaware news team, has been serving in an interim capacity since that time.

“After a thorough national search, we are delighted to have found the best candidate here in our backyard,” said WHYY’s executive vice president and COO Kyra McGrath. “Sandy’s years of experience in Philadelphia regional news, her leadership in digital newsroom operations and her community engagement initiatives all make her the perfect leader for WHYY’s robust news operation.”

WHYY CEO and president Bill Marrazzo added, “We look forward to Sandra’s contributions as we keep expanding to fill the need for solid news and public interest programming.”

Before becoming the Inquirer’s managing editor in 2014, Clark served as a senior news editor and deputy managing editor for digital news operations. Under her leadership, the paper won a Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 2014. Clark also implemented two of PMN’s most successful reader-engagement initiatives: “My Daughter’s Kitchen,” a healthy-meals cooking program now in 25 schools, and “Black History: What I Wish I Knew.”

Clark came to Philadelphia in 1980 at the urging of Acel Moore, the Inquirer’s legendary reporter and columnist, who died in February 2016. After 10 years at the Inquirer, she left for six years to work with the Peace Corps in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, and to act as a representative for Africare in Mozambique. She has been a curriculum consultant for the education nonprofit Foundations, Inc., and currently advises the Arcadia University student blog.

Clark is board president of the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors. She earned her B.S. in journalism at the University of Kansas and an M.B.A. from Arcadia University. She lives in Wyncote, Pennsylvania.