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Todd Carter Leaving NRNS
PEC Bulletins
8/20/2003
Our reporters largely work in the background and seldom get public recognition for their work. One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is the opportunity to meet and work with the talented people who supply the major media some of the biggest stories on the environmental and national security front.
Our mantra here is education through the media. We find stories that the major media does not do and we develop them. Then we take what we have found and convince the big name reporters, producers and editors to follow through. The idea is to take our contributors' seed-money to get the stories started and then get big media to finish the job. We have been doing this effectively since 1988.
This summer, one of our brightest reporters, Todd Carter, has decided to move on. I wanted to tell you a little bit about him because he represents everything our two news services stand for. He excelled in telling difficult and complicated stories in a way that the public could understand and would want to read or watch. He never colored the stories with his own views; he simply enriched them with information and perspective. PEC is not a grassroots or advocacy organization. Our reporters try to get to the bottom of things. Todd did that with a grace, style and expertise worthy of praise.
Todd arrived as a summer intern from Stanford in 1999. He came with a love of baseball and an exceptionally sharp mind. His gentle persona and initial shyness contrasted with the boisterousness and bravado not uncommon in a newsroom. His level-headed and calm approach concealed a sense of outrage at anyone trying to cover-up environmental information. Todd took on stories like a bulldog; once he was on to you, he never let go.
Todd interned under former NRNS reporter Suzanne Clark (who now is on our Board). Anyone who knows Suzanne knows that she's fair, but certainly demanding. Despite a tall order, Todd's work—covering the environmental messes of Virginia—was remarkable.
When one of our funders approached us about a project in California, I sent Todd to explore stories and see if anyone in the California media was interested in working with us. He came back with an impressive report, and we began covering the state with gusto.
Todd's contributions have amounted to some of the top national environmental news stories over the last few years. If you thought it was important that arsenic should not be at dangerous levels in drinking water, then you owe a debt to Todd Carter for helping to expose the Bush administration's reliance on unsound science to stall better water standards. Todd mentored his colleagues and worked on stories ranging from fraudulent testing labs to exposing the politics behind junk science.
Because he had a collegiate baseball background, I believe Todd understood how a team ethic could lead to success. In my view, what made Carter an exceptional reporter was his ability to ignore his own interests for the sake of the story. Todd, in many ways, has been our utility infielder, doing just about everything superbly. Because he was the least volatile person in our office, he could calm things when a story appeared to be in jeopardy. His great strengths as a journalist are his sense of what makes a story and his ability to get people to talk to him. Because he is a talented writer and accurate reporter, his media colleagues have relied on him and regard him highly.
Todd's leaving us to teach at Beauvoir Elementary School, the feeder for the National Cathedral School for Girls and St. Albans — thus continuing his effort to educate the public. We all suspect he is going to slip in a little baseball coaching on the side. Those kids could not get anyone better suited to prepare them for the world. All of us at PEC wish Todd and Beth, his fiancé, the very best.