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Mark Sauer
Host, The Roundtable - Contributor through February 2021

A newspaperman for more than 30 years, Mark Sauer joined KPBS in October 2010 and previously served as the host of the KPBS Roundtable.
He spent 27 years as a reporter and editor at The San Diego Union-Tribune after stints at The Houston Post and at two papers in his native Michigan.
A features/human-interest writer in the UT's Currents section for many years, Mark also spent about a third of his UT career as an editor and reporter on the Metro Desk. He has covered a wide range of events: Wild fires in Southern California and Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast; Super Bowls and the World Series; foster care and child-abuse issues; the Roman Catholic Diocese's sexual-abuse scandal and bankruptcy; royal visits of Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and Princess Diana; Republican and Democratic national conventions; high-profile criminal trials; and many other stories, from the silly to the sublime. Along the way, he interviewed everyone from presidents to pan-handlers.
His work exposing the false accusations and prosecutions of several San Diegans for murder, rape and child abuse garnered Pulitzer Prize nominations and many regional and local journalism awards, including Best in the West, the Sol Price Award for Responsible Journalism and several San Diego and California bar-association awards.
Mark has a degree in journalism from Michigan State University.
Recent Stories by Mark Sauer

Roundtable: The Climate Crisis Gets Political
- Feb. 19
- By Bennett Lacy, Mark Sauer
A deep freeze in Texas and elsewhere becomes the latest political fight over how to deal with climate change, San Diego's push to step up enforcement of COVID-19 violations doesn't materialize and local college students weigh in on the debate over whether to forgive student loan debt.

Roundtable: Reopening San Diego's Theme Parks
- Feb. 12
- By Bennett Lacy, Mark Sauer
State lawmakers push to accelerate theme park reopenings as SeaWorld and the San Diego Zoo reopen with limited capacity, the San Diego Padres prepare for a new season while navigating COVID-19 and housing advocates worry how a large local real estate deal might affect the supply of affordable apartments.

Roundtable: A New Approach At The Border
- Jan. 29
- By Bennett Lacy, Mark Sauer
President Joe Biden takes steps to undo some of former President Trump's controversial immigration policies, California's public schools experience a significant drop in enrollment during COVID-19 and a San Diego Congressman joins a bipartisan effort to deal with climate change.

Roundtable: Restaurant Resistance Of COVID-19 Rules
- Jan. 22
- By Bennett Lacy, Mark Sauer
Local restaurants defy COVID-19 rules as a peaceful protest, San Diego's Spanish-speaking community reacts to the end of the Trump era, and the leader of the San Diego Unified School District is chosen for a position in the Biden administration.

New U-T Columnist To Focus On San Diego's Diverse Identities, Values
- Jan. 19
- By Mark Sauer, Pat Finn
As a reporter on the politics and events of San Diego County for The San Diego Union-Tribune, Charles Clark kept his opinions to himself. Today he becomes a columnist who will focus on how race, history, identity and values shape our actions.

San Diego Climate Leaders Weigh In On Biden's Climate Plan
- Jan. 18
- By Brooke Ruth, Mark Sauer
Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president this week. A new administration means a new approach to the existential threat of climate change, a threat the president-elect calls, “the greatest challenge facing our nation and the world."

Roundtable: How San Diego's Lawmakers Handled Trump's Second Impeachment
- Jan. 15
- By Bennett Lacy, Mark Sauer
San Diego's congressional representatives split on impeachment, a new COVID-19 vaccination center opens near Petco Park, and the vaccine arrives in short supply in Imperial County.

Roundtable: Trump Supporters Storm US Capitol
- Jan. 8
- By Bennett Lacy, Mark Sauer
Calls grow for President Donald Trump's removal from office after deadly protest by supporters at the U.S. Capitol, the role social media played in organizing this week's chaos in Washington and the worsening COVID-19 situation in San Diego County.

Roundtable: The COVID-19 Vaccine Arrives As New Cases Soar
- Dec. 18, 2020
- By Bennett Lacy, Mark Sauer
San Diego receives its first batch of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, transportation advocates have high hopes for a major expansion of bus and rail service, and a look back at how KPBS covered the top stories of 2020.

Roundtable: New Leadership At San Diego City Hall
- Dec. 11, 2020
- By Bennett Lacy, Mark Sauer
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria begins his term with a city council dominated by Democrats, a look back on the Mayor Kevin Faulconer era, and some analysis on San Diego's record-breaking voter turnout in the 2020 general election.