Potomac Flacks

JOB OF THE WEEK: Financial Services Institute, Online Communications Manager

The Financial Services Institute (FSI), the leading trade association for independent financial services firms and independent financial advisors, is hiring an Online Communications Manager for its Washington, D.C. office.

A strong candidate for this position will have 2-5 years of experience and a demonstrated ability to manage all aspects of a digitally-driven issue campaign. We are looking for a highly motivated self-starter, a creative thinker who can generate and execute on actionable ideas for high-level advocacy campaigns. He/she should be well organized and strategic and have a basic understanding of the legislative process. Knowledge of the financial services industry is a plus but not required. Candidate should excel in a fast-moving, high-stakes environment, in a rapidly growing organization. 

Specific duties and skills: 

• Advanced and thorough knowledge and use of all major social media platforms;
• Understanding of website CMS platforms a must, ability to write code a plus;
• A strong affinity for technology and knowledge of the process of deploying digital assets, including websites, social media campaigns, creating mass HTML e-mails and infographics;
• Excellent writing abilities with an ability to generate copy that can be widely disseminated and quoted from as is, with minimal editing;
• Basic understanding of politics and the daily news cycle;
• Basic understanding of media relations a plus, but not a requirement;
• Will be responsible for writing online copy, posting all press releases, advocacy updates and marketing materials online, writing and posting updates on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social sites, and, most importantly, formulating and executing on an overall online strategy.

TO APPLY: Send resume and cover letter/email to FSI’s Managing Director, Communications & Media Relations Chris Paulitz at [email protected]. Please, no phone calls. (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)

Aide to White House Press Secretary, Hopkins, Moving to Treasury

First reported in this morning’s Politico Playbook, Marissa Hopkins, the Special Assistant to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney (and Robert Gibbs before him), will move to the U.S. Department of Treasury later this week as Senior Adviser in Public Affairs.

Hopkins is a “veteran of the 2004presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and a cum laude graduate of Boston University.”

Hopkins is replacing Molly Buford, who will become the new White House Liaison at Treasury.

Hopkins wedding announcement was recently published in the New York Times. (Politico Playbook)

JOB OF THE WEEK: Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Senior Vice President of Communications and External Relations

One of the nation's premier non-profits, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, is searching for a Senior Vice President of Communications & External Relations.

The job, based in Washington, D.C., includes being on the senior leadership team and running the communications division, while interacting with marketing, fundraising and local chapters. It's a top-tier job for a wonderful cause, with a highly competitive compensation package.

TO APPLY: If you have AT LEAST 15 years of experience in communications and you're highly creative and ready to work in an exciting, emotional and challenging field (fighting to end breast cancer), please send your resumes to [email protected].  (PF tipster)

TRICKS OF THE TRADE: PR Newser offers Six Tips for Making your Press Release Twitter Friendly

Mediabistro blog PR Newser offers “Six tips for making your press release Twitter friendly” in light of a recent study from PR Newswire & Crowd Factory that found that Twitter drives more traffic to press releases than Facebook. 

The six tips?

1)      It Starts with the Headline – Leave room for comment & retweets, make headline eye catching & newsworthy, tweet “facts and stats”

2)     Numbers, Numbers, Numbers – If you have data within a press release, put it in the headline

3)     Make Sub-stories Tweetable – Make the press release “scanable” by highlighting secondary areas, so one press release can be a few different tweets

4)     Hashtag Properly – Keywords and search terms make it easier to find; tweet should be “more social but less deep”

5)     Make Quotes Tweetable – Make quotes “interesting and substantive”

6)     Increase Multimedia – Audio, video and other multimedia add value and “further draw your audience in”

Summary: "In other words, consider the social media platform and create your strategy — and your press release — accordingly."

Full item here. (PR Newser)

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)

Hate Your Job? Receive Anonymous Job Offers – Anonymously

Mediabistro site Media Jobs Daily finds a clever new job site online called http://www.PleasePoach.Me.

This is not your father’s Monster.com.

The site “lets people sign up anonymously, post a short bio, and hope that other companies will find the profile and steal them away from their current jobs.”

“PleasePoach.me swears your data is anonymous, and the service is free to jobseekers, and fairly cheap for recruiters. It may seem “a little heavy on the startup / developer side but it’s worth a shot.”  (Media Jobs Daily)

BREAKING: Veteran Hill Flack Loskarn Promoted to Chief of Staff for Sen. Alexander

Perfecting the flack-to-Chief path as only a few before him (Ron Bonjean, David Wade, etc) have successfully done, today Ryan Loskarn was named Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN).

Loskarn will succeed ten-year veteran Matt Sonnesyn who will, the office said, “pursue private interests.”

For the past two and a half years Loskarn has served as Staff Director for the Senate Republican Conference (SRC), which Sen. Alexander chairs for through 2012.  Before being named Staff Director, Loskarn served as Communications Director of the SRC under both Sen. Alexander and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ).  While at SRC under Sen. Alexander he also served as his Communications Director for the personal office.

Loskarn served in the House of Representatives for seven years, as a legislative aide to Rep. Wally Herger (R-CA), Deputy Press Secretary at the House Rules Committee and as Communications Direcotr for Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

Loskarn has been named one of Roll Call’s “Fabulous 50 Movers and Shakers” on Capitol Hill.

In 200 he earned a B.A. in history and political science from Tulane University and is a native of Sykesville, MD.  (PF tipster)

EXCLUSIVE: Patel Departs Rep. Wilson for Rep. Boustany; Delleney Replaces Him

Neal Patel, not to be confused with former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney and Daily Caller co-founder Neil Patel, recently departed as Communications Director for Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), where he’s served since December 2010.  Monday, Nov. 14 is his first day in the same role serving Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA).

Patel has had a nontraditional career path to Hill flack, having created a private equity holdings company in 2007 and also practicing law in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Patel is a 2005 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a 2008 graduate of the Charleston School of Law.  He is a native of Nichols, SC.

Replacing Patel with Rep. Wilson is Caroline Delleney, a native of Chester, SC.  (PF tipster)

JOB OF THE WEEK: Booz Allen Hamilton, Speechwriter (DC)

The Strategic Communications group at Booz Allen Hamilton is actively seeking an experienced Speechwriter to support a senior federal executive full time in the DC area.  We’re looking for someone with proven speech writing experiencing supporting flag officers, cabinet level executives, or Capitol Hill leadership.

Ideal candidate has 8+ years of communications experience with a specific focus on speech writing.

TO APPLY: Interested candidates can send their resume to me, David Haradon ([email protected]).  Additional information about careers at Booz Allen can be found at www.boozallen.com/careers.  This is an immediate opening and will close as soon as it’s filled.  No phone calls please. (PF tipster)