31-year career with The Modesto Bee coming to a close for Editor Brian Clark
After 31 years with The Modesto Bee, Editor Brian Clark is stepping down to pursue other interests. His final day will be Dec. 3.
Clark has been editor since March 2018. Under his newsroom leadership, The Bee won more than 50 state and regional awards, including one for public service tied to the news organization’s coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the Latino community.
“Our success is purely a result of the tireless work of the people in our newsroom,” Clark said. “There are no journalists I’d rather be associated with than those who have faithfully served our readers in Stanislaus County and the surrounding areas.”
Under Clark and with the support of community leaders, businesses, readers and national funders like Report for America, The Bee has hired four reporters in the past three years to cover children’s health, education, underserved communities and economic development.
The Bee’s Economic Mobility Lab, consisting of three of those reporters, has touched communities and taken deep dives on issues that had received scant coverage as changes to the industry over the years have forced organizations to pull back due to staffing issues.
In recent years, The Bee has led discussion on important topics. A forum in June 2019 held at The Gallo Center for the Arts as part of the paper’s California Priorities series focused on children and senior health. The debate at the State Theatre in January 2020 drew a sellout crowd to hear our 10th Congressional District candidates discuss important issues impacting Stanislaus County residents.
More recently, The Bee has hosted virtual town hall forums on everything from education and COVID-19 impacts to civilian police oversight and candidate debates.
Additionally, Clark, in partnership with Stanislaus Community Foundation, helped to rejuvenate the “Book of Dreams” project in 2018, and over two years helped raise more than $165,000 for local charities, including a record $86,000 in 2019. The program has been put on hold for two years due to logistics tied to the pandemic.
“It’s easy to have success when you have the support of the community,” Clark said. “Stanislaus County and its residents rise to every occasion when needed.”
Clark began at The Bee in October 1990 as a sports copy editor, page designer and columnist.
“For more than three decades, Brian has dedicated himself to serving the community and ensuring that The Modesto Bee is delivering essential news and information that readers can’t find anywhere else,” said California Regional Editor Colleen Nelson. “Brian’s focus on our readers has been unwavering, and his leadership in the newsroom has been invaluable. We will build on the strong foundation that he laid, but Brian will be sorely missed at The Modesto Bee.”
Clark started his career as sports editor at the Turlock Journal in 1987. Within a few years of joining The Bee from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, he ascended into management, becoming sports editor.
Over the next 13 years, he led the sports department and moved over to news as weekend editor and assistant city editor, in charge of reporters covering health, growth and the environment.
From the news department, he moved to the digital side, ramping up The Bee’s efforts in real-time reporting, video production at modbee.com and focusing on audience development through social media and search engine optimization.
“I’ve had a great run at The Bee and enjoyed the many positions I’ve held,” he said. “Nothing, though, matches working for and alongside some of the best journalists and co-workers in the business.”
This story was originally published November 28, 2021 at 5:00 AM.