Clark Howard

Clark D. Howard
Born	June 20, 1955 (1955-06-20)
Education	American University Central Michigan University
Occupation	Syndicated Talk radio host, Consumer Advocate, & Author
Spouse	Lane Howard
Website
clarkhoward.com

Clark Howard (born June 20, 1955) is a popular U.S. talk radio host of the nationally syndicated consumer advocate program The Clark Howard Show. The show covers consumer and financial news, with advice on how to spend less, save more and avoid rip-offs. The show airs from the Cox Radio flagship station WSB AM in Atlanta, Georgia.

Life

Clark Howard is a nationally syndicated consumer advocate who advises consumers how to save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off. His radio show is heard every day on more than 200 radio stations throughout North America. The Clark Howard Show show on HLN runs every Saturday and Sunday at 6:00 am, noon and 4:00 pm ET. He is a frequent guest on many other talk, variety and news programs.

Clark Howard's first career was in the travel agency business. Howard attended the Westminster Schools in Atlanta before graduating from the American University in 1976 with a B.A. in Urban Government. He went on to receive his Master of Business Administration degree from Central Michigan University in 1977. In 1987, he retired from the travel agency business he founded in 1981 and began giving travel advice in guest appearances on Atlanta radio. His segments were so popular that he was soon given his own radio show. In 1991, Clark also became a TV reporter for the local ABC affiliate. In 1993, he founded the Consumer Action Center to have volunteers answer consumer questions off the air. Clark's website followed in 1997, and in 1998 his show went into syndication.

Clark explained on air that he was joining the Georgia State Defense Force (a non-federal branch of the Georgia Department of Defense). Clark joined after the terrorist attacks of 2001 to do his part in helping to prepare and assist our military. He attends monthly training workshops around the state as part of his service, and has performed medical evacuation work in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

Clark has recently been diagnosed with a "little league" cancer of the prostate. He made it public on WSBTV-2 on February 18, 2009. He gave another update three months later on his Web site.

Media personality

In 2009, HLN (formerly Headline News) began airing a weekend show featuring Clark Howard. The format is similar to Howard's radio show, in that the host gives advice to callers and provides tips on saving money. Clark also appears elsewhere on HLN such as on Morning Express with Robin Meade.

Clark also regularly appears on WSB-TV in Atlanta, which is occasionally broadcast by other Cox Television stations nationwide. His TV appearances offers consumer scam warnings and consumer tips. He is syndicated by Dial Global.

Although his radio show is supported in part by sponsors, Clark has stated on air he does not accept money for personal endorsements. This is of note as he often states strongly worded opinions and research, both pro and con, on various consumer issues, companies, and products.

He started several civic programs in the community, such as Atlanta Volunteer Action, Volunteer Action, Inc., The Big Buddy Program, and Career Action.

With help from his listeners, Clark began teaming up with Habitat for Humanity in 1996 to build houses around the Atlanta area. 2010 marked the 15th anniversary build and "Team Clark" completed its 39th house together.

Website and Consumer Action Center

Clark Howard's website, ClarkHoward.com, is an encyclopedic resource of transcripts from his radio show. You can search for information on many consumer topics there.

In 1993, Howard opened the Consumer Action Center, a free advice call center for consumer questions which is staffed by 150+ volunteers. Consumers can call the center from 10:00 am - 7:00 pm ET at 404-892-8227.

Author

Howard is the author of several books on consumer tips and bargains. Howard's most recent book is titled Living Large in Lean Times. This book features 250+ ways to save more, spend less, and avoid rip-offs. Other books include Clark Smart Real Estate (2006), Clark Smart Parents, Clark Smart Kids (2005), Clark's Big Book of Bargains (2003) and Get Clark Smart: The Ultimate Guide to Getting Rich From America's Money-Saving Expert (2002). Clark's "Get Clark Smart" made it to No. 6 on The New York Times "Best Seller" list for "How-To Books." And his Big Book of Bargains made it to No. 7 and No. 11 on The New York Times "Best Seller" list for "Business Books".

Criticism

Howard's Web site hosts a forum called "Clark Stinks!" for people who disagree with his advice. Once each week, Howard's executive producer reads him posts from the "Clark Stinks!" for him to respond to on-air. This segment is then made available on ClarkHoward.com for download as a Web-only exclusive.

Books

• Howard, Clark; Meltzer, Mark (1999). Clark Howard's Consumer Survival Kit III (Paperback ed.). Longstreet Pr. ISBN 1563525062. 
• Howard, Clark; Meltzer, Mark (2000). Get Clark Smart : The Ultimate Guide for the Savvy Consumer (Paperback ed.). Longstreet Pr. ISBN 1563526298. 
• Howard, Clark; Meltzer, Mark (2002). Get Clark Smart: The Ultimate Guide to Getting Rich from America's Money-Saving Expert (Paperback ed.). Longstreet Pr. ISBN 078688777X. 
• Howard, Clark; Meltzer, Mark (2003). Clark's Big Book of Bargains : Clark Howard Teaches You How to Get the Best Deals (Paperback ed.). Longstreet Pr. ISBN 0786887788. 
• Howard, Clark; Meltzer, Mark (2005). Clark Smart Parents, Clark Smart Kids : Teaching Kids of Every Age the Value of Money (Paperback ed.). Longstreet Pr. ISBN 0786887796. 
• Howard, Clark; Meltzer, Mark (April 10, 2006). Clark Smart Real Estate: The Ultimate Guide to Buying and Selling Real Estate (Paperback ed.). Longstreet Pr. ISBN 140130785X. 
• Howard, Clark; Meltzer, Mark (2011). Living Large in Lean Times (Paperback ed.). Penguin Group. ISBN 1583334335. 

External links

• Clark Howard's website
• Clark Howard's official book site
• 750 WSB Radio - Clark Howard's "home" station
• Cox Radio Syndication
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution blog site on Atlanta's radio stations.