Veteran Journalist Mark Sauer Suddenly Exits KPBS, Cites 'Personal Issue'

San Diego CA

23 February, 2021

4:41 PM

Description

By Ken Stone, Times of San Diego February 23, 2021 Veteran journalist Mark Sauer is used to exploring mysteries. Now he's at the center of one. On Tuesday, public broadcasting outlet KPBS told staff in a Zoom editorial meeting it had "parted ways" with Sauer, who in 2014 shared San Diego Journalist of the Year honors with his team for coverage of the Bob Filner sex-harassment saga. Sauer, 68, had been stepping back from his management role in recent years and was moderator of Friday's "KPBS Roundtable" show — formerly known as "Editor's Roundtable." His Twitter handle — @sauerkpbs — has been deleted. "I can confirm that Mark Sauer's last day with KPBS was Friday, February 19," said KPBS spokeswoman Heather Milne Barger. "He left his position as host of 'Roundtable.' We thank him for his many years of service." Via email, Sauer told Times of San Diego: "This is a personal issue. KPBS is a fine organization with many fine people. I wish them continued success going forward." Speculation arose that Sauer's support of the new labor union at KPBS may have played a role. "He had a good relationship with management but he was very supportive of the union," a former KPBS employee said. "Anyone who supported the union upset management. But he was so well loved, I'm surprised they wouldn't celebrate his departure." Since 2013, KPBS employees have been represented by the labor union SAG-AFTRA, which also represents public media professionals at KQED in San Francisco, KPCC in Pasadena and WNYC in New York. A current employee said: "It seems Mark doesn't want to talk about it either. He's asking for privacy." At the U-T, Sauer helped report the case of Dale Akiki, a Faith Chapel volunteer in Spring Valley accused of ritual sexual abuse of preschoolers in the early 1990s. "The children were about 3 and 4 when the events supposedly occurred, and 6 to 8 when they testified" in a 7-month trial, according to a U-T account. "Among other bizarre things, they told the court that Akiki had killed a giraffe and an elephant in their presence and sacrificed a child and drank its blood in the nursery." Akiki was acquitted and won $2 million in a lawsuit. A San Diego County Grand Jury later looked into his prosecution, and District Attorney Ed Miller was defeated in a bid for re-election. Updated at 1:10 p.m. Feb. 23, 2021 Times of San Diego is an independent online news site covering the San Diego metropolitan area. Our journalists report on politics, crime, business, sports, education, arts, the military and everyday life in San Diego. No subscription is required, and you can sign up for a free daily newsletter with a summary of the latest news.