Where are they now? Bill McAllister (Updated)

Says he won't be reporting on Sarah Palin
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Bill McAllister, who served as Gov. Sarah Palin's spokesman, will be a television reporter again. McAllister will leave his current job as communications director for the Alaska Department of Law next week and begin reporting for KTVA in Anchorage, according to a story in the Anchorage Daily News:

McAllister, 55, reported on politics for KTUU, Channel 2, and left the station to work for Palin.

He moved to the Department of Law in 2009 after serving for 11 months as Palin's spokesman.

KTVA's news director, Stacy Feger-Pellessier, said the station was "thrilled" to have McAllister coming on staff. McAllister said he won't be reporting on Palin. "In fact, I'm not going to be doing just politics, whereas at Channel 2 that was like my whole thing," he said.

McAllister will likely replace former reporter-anchor Matt Felling, who quit this week to become Sen. Lisa Murkowski's communications director.

Update: Oh, wait...

- JP

Quote of the Day (June 10, 2009)

Former Palin communications director Bill McAllister, in an Anchorage Press interview:

"I think things are pretty clear—there’s a paradigm shift with Sarah Palin, not just because she’s the first woman [governor], not just because she was the youngest governor ever, but the whole way of doing business in the state was changed by her. She’s asserted the state’s sovereignty, and I think also she is an exemplary person who’s also a person that an average person can relate to... So it’s frustrating to see this distorted view that comes from some quarters of her, which I think is just so far from the reality."

- JP

McAllister moves to AG's office

Bill McAllister, Gov. Palin's communications director, is leaving that position to go to work as a special assistant to Alaska's attorney general:

McAllister said media relations will be a part of his new job. He said it’s a position that was eliminated early in the Palin administration "and the decision has been made that there’s a compelling need for it."

"There have been a number of high-profile issues involving the Department of Law… but there has been no one whose primary function was to communicate with the media and the public." McAllister said.

The former reporter for KTUU reflected on his time working for the governor:

"It has been a privilege to work for a leader who has accomplished so much and inspired so many. The demand for Governor Palin continues unabated. Even today, I have been in touch with a handful of major national news organizations hoping for some time with the governor, not to mention the numerous regional and international journalists who write or call every day. While the governor grants very, very few of these requests, focusing instead on Alaska media, the fact that these inquiries keep on coming anyway demonstrates that there is a great interest in knowing more about Alaska and her governorship, and of course, about her personally. It has been a phenomenon, and a fascinating series of events to witness up close – even if I have at times been disappointed with the members of my former profession."

So far, there’s been no word on who will take McAllister's place in the governor's office, nor has Gov. Palin yet commented on the personnel change. We will have updates as they become available.

h/t: C4P

- JP

Inside Sarah's Circle: 3. Meet Bill McAllister

This is the third in a series in which TX4P profiles the people close to Gov. Palin.

On August 12, 2008, Governor Sarah Palin announced the appointment of Bill McAllister as her Communications Director and Press Secretary.

“We are fortunate to have someone of Bill’s caliber joining our team,” Governor Palin said. “His talent, intelligence and incredible gift of communicating with the public will serve Alaska well. I am pleased he will be part of our efforts to build an effective, responsive and positive branch of government.”

McAllister replaced Rosanne Hughes, whose initial appointment as communications director was announced May 1 of last year. The job had been vacant for some months before that. Hughes was moved to a newly created position of director of external communications. The governor's first communications director was Meghan Stapleton, also a former Anchorage television reporter, who is now the personal spokesperson for Gov. Palin and her family.

McAllister served as the Capitol bureau chief for Channel 2 News (KTUU-TV) from 2004 to 2008. He has also worked as a political reporter for the Juneau Empire (from August 1999 to July 2002), the Alaska Budget Report and for public television station KTOO-TV, where he was host and producer of "Alaska Week." He freelanced for ABC-TV and was host and producer of Alaska's SuperStation news magazine "Capital Focus." At the Anchorage Daily News, he was an Op-Ed page columnist.

Bill McAllister's first job in Alaska was working for the Chilkat Valley News in Haines from 1995 to 1997. McAllister also covered politics in Minnesota for the St. Cloud Times and the St. Paul Legal Ledger.

“I had been covering politics for most of the past 30 years, from Capitol Hill to the Iowa caucuses to the city council in Winona, Minnesota,” McAllister said. “As an Alaskan now for more than 11 years, I’m honored to be part of an administration that’s making a pivotal change for the better in how state government is conducted.”

McAllister received a bachelor’s degree in mass communications in 1978 from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He resides in Anchorage with his wife and three children.

His work has been recognized by the Alaska Press Club, the Alaska Broadcasters Association and the Society of Professional Journalists.

Bill McAllister won four awards from the Alaska Press Club in 2007, including best breaking news story for television, and two awards last year from Capitolbeat, including best single story of the year for television.

McAllister is a former board member and the former secretary of a national organization for statehouse journalists, Capitolbeat. He was co-chair of the 2005 Capitolbeat conference in Seattle and contributed a chapter to the group's nationally distributed guide for legislative reporters.

In 2004, Bill McAllister won first-place awards from the Alaska Press Club for political reporting on television and as best newspaper columnist.

Just five weeks after joining Gov. Palin's staff, Bill McAllister began his battle with lymphoma. On March 12, he spoke publicly for the first time about living with the disease in an interview with KTVA's Matthew Simon.

Other posts in this series:
Inside Sarah's Circle: 1. Meet Kristan Cole
Inside Sarah's Circle: 2. Meet Pam Pryor

Update: It was announced in June that Bill McAllister was leaving the office of the governor to go to work in the Alaska attorney general's office.

- JP