Potomac Flacks

PBS News Hour’s Bowman Headed to San Francisco

Quinn Bowman announced this morning that he is departing PBS News Hour, where he’s worked since August 2007, first as an Assistant Editor / Desk Assistant and then as a reporter / producer for politics to move to San Francisco where he will cover Silicon Valley for Feature Story News from their Mountain View headquarters.

Bowman said, “I will be shooting video, editing, appearing on camera a bit and doing radio. I am going to miss a lot of great people in DC, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity.”

Bowman is a native of Columbus, OH and a graduate of Ohio University.  (PF tipster)

Bedard Leaving U.S. News for the Washington Examiner

Attention Flacks – update your contacts! 

First reported at FishbowlDC, well-known and widely-read columnist Paul Bedard, the author of “Washington Whispers” at U.S. News & World Report, is leaving to become a columnist for the online and print editions of the Washington Examiner, effective January 30.  He has been at USN&WR for 14 years.

Before joining USN&WR, Bedard was White House correspondent for the Washington Times for ten years.  He had previously been co-editor of Defense Week, worked for States News Service in Washington.

Bedard is a 1980 graduate of The George Washington University, and, in a little-known fact, once served as a House Page for former Rep. James Symington of Missouri.  (PF tipster)

JOB OF THE WEEK: Fox & Friends, Writer (New York, NY)

FOX News Channel is seeking an experienced and dynamic morning television writer. This position requires working both weekend and weekday overnight hours.

Requirements:

• 4+ years of national or local major market experience
• Morning television experience a plus
• Demonstrated ability to write creative and edgy stories and teases is vital
• Solid news judgment and understanding of fair and balanced journalism
• Strong producing and communication skills
• Breaking news experience
• The ability to work well in a fast paced and intense atmosphere
• Working knowledge of iNews helpful

TO APPLY: Click here. (Mediabistro)

JOB OF THE WEEK: Opinion Producer, CNN.com (Atlanta, GA)

24/7 Cable News Network CNN is hiring an Opinion Producer at its worldwide headquarters in Atlanta. 

Qualifications:

• 3-5 years of experience as an editor for a news organization
• Strong interest in news, public affairs and social/cultural issues.
• Ability to evaluate strengths and weaknesses in opinion writing.
• Strong news judgment.
• Ability to adapt to ever-changing news agenda and tight deadlines.
• Strong familiarity with opinion journalism on the web.
• Excellent editing skills and talent at working with writers.
• Ability to work as part of a team and collaborate effectively with many other platforms at CNN.
• Knowledge of key editing and publishing software.
• Four year college degree.
• Exceptional news judgment and editing skills.
• Lively and deep interest in news developments, politics, government and culture.
• Effective communication skills.
• Ability to work in a collaborative environment.
• Compatibility with other managers as well as network executives and partners.
• High level journalistic skill, editorial judgment and integrity.
• Ability to plan coverage and execute on those plans.
• Ability to work as part of a team.
• Ability to execute during breaking news situations and under time and deadline pressure.
• Understanding of online, offsite and TV production.
• Flexibility to adapt to various situations and change.
• Eager, energetic and solution-oriented.
• Strong, effective communication skills.
• Well organized

Duties:

• The opinion producer is responsible for working to develop and sustain a regular flow of lively, insightful and engaging content for CNN.com’s Opinion section, working with the rest of the Opinion team and others at CNN.com and other CNN platforms.
• The producer will monitor ongoing news developments, looking for opportunities for opinion pieces, in text and video, from a wide variety of viewpoints.
• The producer should read widely and contribute to developing an ever-growing bank of thinkers and writers who can comment knowledgeably on key issues.
• The producer will edit opinion articles, seeking to ensure they have impact, meet standards and are factually correct and will produce the pieces in the content management system.
• The producer should help maintain the daily schedule of pieces and work with other key editors, designers, and producers at CNN.com to develop effective visual presentation of opinion content and to support topics being covered by other sections of the site.
• The producer should contribute to showcasing the best opinion content as appropriate on the main page and should monitor traffic to that content.
• The producer should use social media to help spread the word about CNN opinion content.  (Mediabistro)

JOB OF THE WEEK: Washington Post, Communications Coordinator

The Washington Post seeks an organized, energetic and detail oriented Communications Coordinator to provide support to the Public Relations team. 

Responsibilities include but are not limited to; event planning, research, report generating, database management, entry-level publicity and telephone coverage. You will maximize your learning potential by assisting with the overall business objectives of the team by taking part in special projects.

Required Skills: 

-          Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.

-          Careful attention to detail with good follow through and the ability to handle multiple priorities.

-          Expertise with MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Outlook .

-          Event planning experience with meetings and conferences.

-          You are strategic in your thinking and naturally prioritize what's important from moment to moment. Change is not a problem for you and you are always ready to change course, if needed.

-          You can easily establish rapport and develop credibility from internal employees and external business partners.

-          You will be a dynamic self-starter with strong interpersonal, communication, and decision making skills.

-          Willingness to work at events after hours or to work extended hours when required

ALSO REQUIRED: 

-          Bachelors Degree

-          1-3 years of experience as an Administrative Assistant or Office Coordinator in a business environment and may be currently working as, but not limited to: Administrative Assistant, Office Assistant, Office Coordinator, Office Manager, or Executive Assistant.

TO APPLY: Please email a cover letter and resume to Kris Coratti, Director of Communications, at kris.coratti [at] wpost [dot] com. (PF tipster)

Former CNN, CBS Producer Yuille Heads to Facebook

Exclusively reported in Politico’s “Playbook” recently, Jennifer Yuille has joined Facebook's communications team, where she will lead consumer media efforts.  She'll be based in New York, but will be spending time in Palo Alto and will start near the end of July.

A former White House producer at CNN, Jen last year left the “CBS Evening News,” where she was a producer for Katie Couric, and joined Polyvore, a Silicon Valley fashion startup that has become the largest fashion community on the Web.  (Politico’s “Playbook”)

Former CNN, ABC Foreign Correspondent O'Connor Moving to U.S. Embassy in Kabul

First reported in Politico’s “Playbook”, Eileen O’Connor has been named the new Communications Director and Director of Public Diplomacy at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, succeeding David Ensor.

O’Connor is currently Counsel in the law firm McDermott, Will and Emery.  She is a former CNN and ABC foreign correspondent, who over a 24-year career in journalism was based in London, Moscow, Tokyo and in Washington, DC.  She is a former Moscow Bureau Chief for CNN, and was also a White House correspondent and national correspondent during the Clinton administration.

O’Connor is known in legal circles as the Editor of (and a frequent contributor to) to the Legal Crisis Strategies blog.

She also has served as the President of the International Center for Journalists, a nonprofit organization dedicated to training journalists to build a free and independent press in emerging democracies and to improve the quality of journalism worldwide. 

O’Connor is a 1981 graduate of Georgetown University.  In 2005 she earned her law degree at Georgetown also.  She is a native of Cleveland, OH.  (Politico’s “Playbook”)

Meet the Bookers

Mediabistro’s TV Newser flagged a good piece for PF readers.  The Hollywood Reporter recently profiled the influential, though largely anonymous, ranks of TV bookers.

Among those profiled:

-NBC “Today” booker Marc Victor

-“The View” talent executive Donald Berman

-CBS “Early Show” senior broadcast producer Tom Mazzarelli

-ABC “Good Morning America” team of Patty Neger and Santina Leuci

Click here for the full story, “12 Talent Bookers who Keep New York Talking.” (Mediabistro’s TV Newser)

Bardella Hired as Communications Director for Daily Caller

The Daily Caller (The DC) announced today the hiring of Kurt Bardella as The DC’s new Communications Director.  Bardella comes to the Daily Caller after spending the past two years serving as the Deputy Communications Director and Spokesman for House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA).

Bardella has also served as Press Secretary for U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and as Communications Director for Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA).  Prior to coming to Washington in July of 2006, Bardella worked for a San Diego-based PR Firm as well as for a local CBS-affiliate.

Bardella replaces Becca Glover Watkins, who in a coincidence, was hired as Deputy Press Secretary by the same committee Bardella was working for before he left.  Bardella left the Hill following under unusual circumstances, as we reported here on March 1.  (PF tipster)

Levine Leaves ABC News, Townsend Returns as New VP of Communications

First reported on PR Newser, Cathie Levine Isay has stepped down as VP of Communications for ABC News.  Levine first joined the network in 2001 as a Publicist for World News Tonight and has since worked with anchors Peter Jennings and Diane Sawyer and promoted the network’s coverage of the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections.

Julie Townsend has been named the new VP of Communications.  Townsend comes from Emanate Public Relations, where she served as VP, Client Service and worked with clients including Bank of America and Embassy Suites.  For Townsend this is a return to a former employer.  She previously worked at ABC News from 2003-2005, rising to the level of Director of Media Relations where she launched ABC News Now.  At that time she left ABC News for NBC Universal where she served as Director of Corporate Communications.  She was also a Legislative Assistant at UPS.  Townsend is a graduate of Davidson College.  (PR Newser)