News Corp Names Sony Pics Media Exec Jim Kennedy Chief Communications Officer

Jim Kennedy had joined Sony Pictures in 2005 after working as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Press Secretary to President Bill Clinton and as head of communications for the White House Counsel’s office, Vice President Al Gore, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut Attorney General’s office, and the Clinton Foundation. He has been overseeing media relations for SCA at Sony’s New York headquarters since October 2011. Here’s today’s release about him running communications at the “new” News Corp:

NEW YORK–December 4, 2013)– News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS)(NASDAQ:NWSA)(ASX:NWS)(ASX:NWSLV) announced today the appointment of Jim Kennedy as Chief Communications Officer, responsible for the company’s global corporate communications and media relations initiatives and strategy. Mr. Kennedy, who served in the Clinton White House, joins News Corp from Sony Corporation of America (SCA), where he currently serves as Senior Vice President for Strategic Communications. Mr. Kennedy begins his new role on December 9 and will report to News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson. “Jim Kennedy is the canniest of communicators and the wisest of wordsmiths,” said Mr. Thomson. “His global experience and Washington expertise mean that he has a contact network that extends from Tokyo to Tucson.” Mr. Kennedy will be based in New York with Ashley Huston, Deputy Head of Communications, who joined News Corp from Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal in January.