Jack Speer, NPR Biography
Newscaster
Jack Speer has worked as a Newscaster at NPR since October 2007, reporting on the major news stories of the day.
In 1999 Speer moved to NPR's National Desk, through which his reporting was heard on NPR News programs including All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition. Speer has produced and reported hundreds of stories while working on the National Desk. His longer pieces included an award-winning series on securities regulation and the need for greater transparency in the financial markets, as well as human-interest stories including a piece on the history of America's oldest brewery and a feature on a day spent with one of the last members of the full-time Fuller Brush sales force.
Speer joined NPR in 1998 to work on Morning Edition. His arrival at NPR launched a significant effort to expand the depth and breadth of business coverage offered by NPR. During his involvement with Morning Edition, Speer reported live for the show on a daily basis, updating the news as developments warranted. His work proved to be a successful and popular addition to the program.
Speer has an extensive background in radio and television news. His work includes anchoring daily business reports for WUSA Channel 9 TV in Washington, DC, and working as a news and business anchor on WTOP-AM, the city's premier all-news commercial radio station. Jack has also worked as a reporter for the Washington Business Journal, and at radio stations in Erie, Pennsylvania; Cleveland, Ohio; and Trenton, New Jersey.
Over his two decades of reporting, Speer has won numerous awards. They include American University's 14th Annual Journalism Award for "Excellence in Personal Finance Reporting," Best News Feature in the AIR Awards, Best Editorial Commentary from the Washington Journalism Society, and a Best Newscaster award from the New Jersey Associated Press. In 2004, Speer was awarded a National Press Foundation fellowship.
Speer is a 1980 graduate of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. He resides in Maryland with his wife Colleen Allen and two children. When he's not trying to keep up with the antics of his energetic young son and daughter, Jack enjoys tennis, swimming, reading, listening to music, and playing his guitar... very badly.
