NYT Hires New Chief Flack
Longtime NYT Co. PR chief Catherine Mathis left the paper for a less stressful job last August. Now the company has finally replaced her with Bob Christie, from Dow Jones, who is a fairly sane guy in our experience. Also perhaps he brings some scandalous Rupert Murdoch secrets? But probably not. Internal memo below:
We are delighted to announce that, following a thorough search, Bob
Christie will be joining us as our new Senior Vice President of
Corporate Communications.Most recently the Vice President of Communications for Dow Jones and
The Wall Street Journal, Bob brings a deep understanding of our
business. As any of you who may have worked with him know, Bob is held
in high regard for his dedication, loyalty and integrity by the media
that covered Dow Jones, the management teams he served and the
employees he represented.He is charged with the planning, development and implementation of the
Times Company's internal and external communications strategies. Bob
will serve as a member of our Company's senior management team and
report to Janet.At Dow Jones he was responsible for brand, executive and crisis
communications for its consumer businesses worldwide. During his
tenure at Dow Jones, Bob held several roles in the communications and
public relations departments handling issues for Dow Jones corporate
and its various business units, news departments and ad sales groups.
He directed the communications campaigns for the launches of The Wall
Street Journal Weekend Edition in 2005, the redesigned Journal in 2007
and the acquisition of CBSMarketWatch.com.Before joining Dow Jones in August 2003, Bob spent four years at Sony
Electronics Inc., where he played a significant role in Sony's
communications efforts. Previously, he served as a senior account
director for Goodman Media International, Inc., where he managed a
wide range of campaigns for the firm's corporate clients. Bob began
his career in 1990 at The National Academy of Television Arts and
Sciences, where he served in a variety of media relations and public
relations positions.In 2007, Bob was selected as one of the top 40 public relations
executives in the United States under the age of 40 by PR Week
magazine, the leading trade magazine for public relations
professionals. He is a graduate of Mansfield University of
Pennsylvania and in 2009 his alma mater awarded him its Society of
Honors Outstanding Young Alumni Award.We want to personally thank Ethan Riegelhaupt, Diane McNulty, Abbe
Serphos, Paula Schwartz and the entire Corporate Communications team
for their herculean efforts and dedication since Catherine's departure
last summer. Bob will certainly appreciate their professionalism and
dedication to the company.Bob will start on March 22. Please join us in welcoming him to the Company.
Sincerely,
Arthur and Janet