Uncovering - West Virginia University

Loretta Ucelli
Ian insider’s perspective of the
West Wing By WESlEy hUntEMann
In October 2008, strategic communications executive Loretta Ucelli
(BSJ, 1976) offered public relations students a glimpse into the
world of presidential campaigns and strategic political communications.
Ucelli, who served as director of White House communications
during the last two years of former President Bill Clinton’s term,
visited three public relations classes prior to the 2008 presidential
elections.
Students in the PR research and case studies class asked Ucelli to
evaluate the communication strategies of the two candidates: Barack
Obama and John McCain. Ucelli said she believed Obama presented
a consistent message of change that resonated more effectively
with voters. She said she learned from her time in the Clinton
Administration that, when it comes to presidential campaigns, one
of the most important strategies is to “develop a message and stick
to it.”
Ucelli learned firsthand the importance of staying on message
when she was brought in following the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
She and her team were tasked with developing a communication
strategy focusing on Clinton’s initiatives rather than the scandal.
Ucelli has spent 25 years advising some of the world’s most influential
public and private sector leaders. Most recently, Ucelli held
the most senior communications position at Pfizer Inc., the world’s
largest research-based pharmaceutical company. Prior to joining
Pfizer, she headed communications, government and community
affairs for Columbia University.
Ucelli was named to the WVU Academy of Distinguished Alumni
in 2002 and is a member of the School of Journalism’s Advisory
Committee.
Back on Campus
8
Kendal Montgomery
RSOJ graduate merges passions for
politics and journalism By ian ShoRtS
Regardless of the medium, journalists who want to be successful
need to know their subject areas, said Michael Tomasky (BSJ, 1982)
when he spoke to journalism students last fall.
“Be a master of the material,” he said. “The more you know, the
more you can formulate your own story ideas.”
As editor of Democracy: A Journal of Ideas and the American
editor-at-large with the Guardian News & Media’s U.S. editorial
operation, Tomasky reads even more than he writes. He said he
wakes up at 6 a.m. to read all the national newspapers, talkingpoints
memos and 25 blogs. Even that, he said, is on the “low end,”
compared to what his colleagues read.
Formerly the editor of GuardianAmerica.com, the U.S.-based website
of the Guardian newspaper of England, Tomasky continues to
produce weekly online video reports, as well as regular blog analysis
and a monthly column for the Guardian.
Tomasky told students his move into online journalism happened
gradually.
In 1984, two years after graduation, Tomasky went to Washington,
D.C., where he worked under Congressman Harley Staggers Jr.
Deciding to merge his two passions – journalism and politics – he
moved on to pursue a master’s degree in political science at New
York University.
While in New York, Tomasky wrote for the Village Voice, New York
Observer and New York magazine, where he produced a political
column for eight years.
Before making the leap into Web-based journalism, Tomasky also
served as editor of The American Prospect, a leading liberal opinion
journal.
Michael Tomasky
Andy Smith