Inside Sarah's Circle: 5. Meet David Murrow

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

Who is David Murrow?

According to Alaska Ear, he's Bill McAllister's likely replacement in the governor's office as her communications director:

Now that Palin press aide Bill McAllister has been officially kicked sideways to the A.G.'s office, earwigs say his replacement in the governor's posse will be David Murrow, described as a local freelance television producer turned writer.

According to his publisher Thomas Nelson, he already has the job:

David Murrow is Director of Communications for Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and author of two books on men's issues. He is also director of Church for Men, an organization that helps churches connect with men and boys. David and his wife, Gina, have three children.

Murrow is the author of two books - Why Men hate Going to Church, published in 2004, and How Women Help Men Find God, published last year.

The bio which accompanies an interview of Murrow at FaithfulReader.com, offers this description:

David Murrow has, for more than twenty years, produced and written television documentaries, commercials, and specials. He's won numerous awards for his production, writing, and creative skills. He's produced material for the Discovery Channel, NBC, ABC, Food Network, Travel Channel, Dr. Phil, The Miss America Pageant, and many others. He has owned Murrow Media, Inc., since 1987 and has a degree in Anthropology from Baylor University. He has served as an elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and he and his wife have three children.

Not mentioned in the bio is something you learn exploring Murrow's website. He is director of Church for Men. No, it's not a church that excludes females, but rather an organization which practices the principles Murrow preaches in his two books. According to the author, most churches have a feminine environment where the men's ministry, if indeed the church has one, exists apart from the environment of the church. Church for Men works, using books, seminars and other resources, to integrate both the masculine and feminine spirit throughout church life. Further nosing around his website revealed that Murrow lives in Chugiak, an unincorporated community about 20 miles northeast of Anchorage.

So how does he know Governor Sarah Palin, and what would lead her to trust Murrow with the position of communications director in her office? What is their relationship? These questions are perhaps best answered in an article Murrow wrote last September not long after the governor had accepted her party's nomination to be its vice presidential candidate. The title is "Sarah Palin is a Friend of Mine":

Before I wrote Why Men Hate Going to Church, I was a full-time television producer in Anchorage, Alaska. I did quite a bit of political consulting in election years. Sarah came to me in 2002 and asked me to produce media for her Lt. Governor campaign. I knew right away she was a different kind of politician. She was confident but not arrogant. She was down-home approachable, yet sophisticated. She seemed utterly uninterested in the trappings of power, yet ambitious to wield power for good. As cameras rolled for her first commercial, I knew that Sarah Palin was a gifted communicator.

[...]

Sarah has been a guest in my home. She’s had dinner with my family and I’ve been to her house in Wasilla to film one of her commercials. We’ve worked together through the pressures of the campaign season. We took a moment to stop and pray when the campaign got tough. Sarah also encouraged me to complete my first book, and came to a book signing at Barnes and Noble in Anchorage in 2005 (see photo).

Her rapid rise in politics is a direct result of her unwavering moral compass. Sarah makes her decisions based on one criterion: what’s the right thing to do? In 2003, Gov. Frank Murkowski offered her an appointment to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. (I advised her not to take the position. She ignored my advice, and took the job anyway.) Shortly after taking her seat on the commission, she noticed that one of her fellow commissioners, Randy Reudrich, was doing political business on state time. Reudrich was (and still is) chairman of the state Republican party. Randy controls the flow of money to Republican candidates.

Once a year all political appointees in Alaska are required to sign a conflict of interest statement. Part of the statement requires commissioners to report any violation by their colleagues. Sarah felt she had no choice but to tell the truth about Reudrich’s abuses, even though she would be turning in a fellow Republican. In the days following her allegations many who follow Alaska politics (myself included) thought Sarah had committed political suicide. But her courageous stand against corruption endeared her to the citizens of Alaska.

In 2006 Sarah Palin decided to run for governor. You have no idea what a quixotic mission this was. To win elections in Alaska a candidate must gather the backing of at least one powerful group: the oil industry, the media or the labor unions. Sarah had none of these. Nevertheless, she won the Republican nomination handily. In the general election, the power groups stepped up their opposition. The media dismissed her as a lightweight (and too conservative). The oil industry and labor unions backed her Democratic challenger. Even her own Republican Party (under the control of Reudrich) offered only token support. In the end only one group stood behind her: the people. She rolled to victory and began cleaning house.

[...]

So, is she ready to lead the free world? I have no doubt Sarah Palin would be a tough-as-nails negotiator during any political crisis. She’s stood up to corruption in her own party. She’s stared down Exxon and won. Heck, even she got me to lower my production rates! I see in her the grit, resolve and complete lack of political pretense that brought Teddy Roosevelt to power a century ago. I think she’s ready to be Vice President, and will be prepared to assume the Oval Office if the need arises.

David Murrow is obviously a trusted friend, one who knows and understands Sarah Palin. They share an abiding faith in the Lord, and we see from the article that she seeks him out for his advice. As a politically astute media professional with over 20 years of television production experience, he should have the skills and talent needed to help her get her message out. Bill McAllister wore two hats as the governor's communications director and press secretary. I expect she will split those functions and appoint a separate press secretary if Murrow, who has limited experience dealing with reporters as a spokesman, is indeed now her communications director.

Other posts in this series:

Inside Sarah's Circle: 1. Meet Kristan Cole
Inside Sarah's Circle: 2. Meet Pam Pryor
Inside Sarah's Circle: 3. Meet Bill McAllister
Inside Sarah's Circle: 4. Meet Mike Nizich

- 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