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Howard Center Povich Center Capital News Service Local News Network UMTV Student Organizations
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Robert Klemko ('10)

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Portrait of Robert Klemko ('10)

Robert Klemko ('10)

Investigative Reporter, ESPN

Robert Klemko is a reporter for ESPN’s Investigative and Enterprise Journalism Unit. He joined ESPN in March 2026 after six years at The Washington Post, where he covered criminal justice and police reform in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, immigration policy and enforcement during President Donald Trump's second administration, several high-profile mass shootings, police killings and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Klemko wrote one of 15 stories in a Post series honored with the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. 

He previously spent six years at Sports Illustrated, where he was a senior staff writer focusing on coverage of the National Football League. Before that, Klemko worked for USA TODAY as a general assignment reporter focusing on the NFL, social media and sports. He was part of the team that covered the 2012 Summer Olympics and has covered multiple Super Bowls. Klemko is a 2010 graduate of the University of Maryland. He grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland. Among his many interests is teaching young students the craft of journalism. He recently served as the student newspaper adviser at a Denver high school, where he taught news gathering and news writing and led a class in the production of a monthly student newspaper.

Philip Merrill College of Journalism
7765 Alumni Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA
journalism@umd.edu 301.405.2399