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Sonari Glinton

Credit Doby Photography / NPR

Sonari Glinton is a NPR National Desk reporter based in Detroit, primarily covering the auto industry and transportation. He focuses on the business of cars as well as the economy and the business climate of the Detroit area and the industrial Midwest.

In this position, which he has held since late 2010, Glinton has tackled big stories including GM's road back to profitability and Toyota's continuing struggles. Glinton has traveled throughout the Midwest covering important stories such as the tornado in Joplin, Missouri, and the 2012 presidential race. He has also covered the U.S. Senate and House for NPR.

Glinton came to NPR in August 2007 and worked as a producer for All Things Considered. During that time he produced interviews with everyone from UN Ambassador Susan Rice to Joan Rivers. The highlight for Glinton came when he produced Robert Siegel's 50 Great Voices piece on Nat King Cole.

Glinton began his public radio career as an intern at member station WBEZ in Chicago. He went on to produce and report for WBEZ. While in Chicago he focused on juvenile justice and the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Prior to journalism Glinton had a career in finance.

For his work on a series uncovering abuse at the Cook Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, Glinton was honored with the Society of Professional Journalist's Sigma Delta Chi Award for Investigative Reporting.

Glinton attended Boston University.

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NPR Cities: Urban Life In The 21st Century
4:48 pm
Thu July 5, 2012

A Company Town Reinvents Itself In South Bend, Ind.

Next imagePrevious image
Credit Peter Hoffman for NPR
Pete Buttigieg, 30, is the first mayor of South Bend, Ind., born after car manufacturer Studebaker left town.
Credit Peter Hoffman for NPR
Looking out the window of the Studebaker plant, you can see the heavy toll the plant's closure had on the town 50 years ago.
Credit Peter Hoffman for NPR
Decommissioned train tracks run through the west side of town. Old fiber optic lines that run along the highways and railroads are being used by new technology companies.
Credit Peter Hoffman for NPR
South Bend lost one-third of its population after the Studebaker plant closed.
Credit Peter Hoffman for NPR
The lobby of South Bend's old railroad station has been fully refurbished as part of the Union Station Technology Center. Buttigieg says South Bend has an edge over other tech cities because of the infrastructure left over from Studebaker.
Credit Peter Hoffman for NPR
Nick Easley of the Union Station Technology Center calls this room full of servers at the center "the cloud."
Credit Peter Hoffman for NPR
South Bend, Ind., used to be a company town, but it never quite recovered from the closure of Studebaker in 1963. Today, areas of town are turning around, such as Union Station, which now houses a tech center.
Credit Peter Hoffman for NPR
According to Buttigieg, the good thing is that the worst thing that could have happened to South Bend already happened 50 years ago.
Credit Peter Hoffman for NPR
Abandoned factories were recently torn down and turned into Ignition Park, a space for new businesses.
Credit Peter Hoffman for NPR
Pete Buttigieg, 30, is the first mayor of South Bend born after Studebaker closed. "A lot of the work here is just getting the land back from negative to neutral," he says.
Credit Peter Hoffman for NPR
"Getting past [Studebaker's] legacy is not going to be easy," says Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Ind., "and it's not going to be obvious."
Credit Peter Hoffman for NPR
Nick Easley, director of strategic initiatives for Union Station Technology Center, stands inside the former Studebaker plant. The center hopes to expand its business into the old building.
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Originally published on Fri July 6, 2012 1:55 pm

There are two truths about South Bend, Ind. No. 1: You can't escape the influence of the University of Notre Dame. No. 2: You can't escape the ghost of Studebaker.

South Bend may be best known as the home of the Fighting Irish, but it was once the home of Studebaker automobiles. When Studebaker closed in 1963, it left a gaping hole in the town, where unemployment is at 10.4 percent, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Now, the city is working hard to create a second act for the commercial life of South Bend.

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Planet Money
4:43 am
Fri June 15, 2012

Can Lincoln Be Cool Again?

Credit courtesy Lincoln
An ad for the 1965 Lincoln Continental.
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Originally published on Fri June 15, 2012 10:56 am

In the car business, Lincoln once stood as the pinnacle of luxury. Frank Sinatra drove a Lincoln. So did the Shah of Iran. In the U.S., the presidential limo was a Lincoln.

The brand peaked with the 1961 Lincoln Continental, a beautiful, innovative car that stood for style, individuality and sophistication.

But after the '60s, Lincoln started on a long, slow decline that mirrored the slide of the American auto industry.

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Business
5:18 am
Thu June 7, 2012

What's Next For Organized Labor?

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Originally published on Thu June 7, 2012 4:17 pm

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene.

We'll begin this program with the aftermath of Tuesday's recall election in Wisconsin. Public sector unions took on Republican Governor Scott Walker, and the governor won. Walker became the first U.S. governor to beat back a recall attempt. The unions had spent a lot time, money and political capital in Wisconsin.

NPR's Sonari Glinton reports on what's next for organized labor.

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Business
5:49 am
Mon May 28, 2012

Subprime Market Aids Car Industry Growth

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The average credit score for new- and used-car buyers has taken a fall since the days of the financial crisis in 2008. It's fallen especially in the last two quarters. Brands such as Kia and Dodge are gobbling up a disproportionate number of subprime buyers. An increasing number of new-car buyers are getting loans with interest rates higher than 10 percent.

Business
8:16 am
Sat May 19, 2012

Average Investors Share Facebook Feelings

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Originally published on Sat May 19, 2012 11:19 am

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

The Facebook IPO hasn't just sent a jolt of excitement through Silicon Valley, there are many average individual investors who are also thrilled. NPR's Sonari Glinton has more.

SONARI GLINTON, BYLINE: All right. It's a little after 9:30 on Friday. The bell just rang on the NASDAQ, and I'm gonna check in with some regular investors. I'm gonna start with Nelly Sai-Palm. She's a student at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, and I'm going to give her a call.

(SOUNDBITE OF TELEPHONE RINGING)

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