KELLI RAFTERY NAMED SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS, CBS CORPORATION Published on: 05/19/2015 | All 2015 Press Releases SHANNON JACOBS TO BECOME A SENIOR CONSULTANT TO THE COMPANY
Kelli Raftery has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Communications, CBS Corporation, it was announced today by Dana McClintock, Executive Vice President of Communications.
In her new role, Raftery will help manage media relations for the CBS Corporate Communications Department, covering a wide range of Company initiatives and activities in Sales, Research, Affiliate Relations, Carriage Agreements, Governmental Affairs, Program Practices, among others. She will also work closely to support the communications teams at each of CBS's business segments.
Raftery will assume her new corporate duties on Monday, June 1. In addition, through the launch of the new fall season in September, she will also maintain her current position in support of CBS Entertainment communications. This includes oversight of CBS Daytime and its flagship daytime talk show, THE TALK.
Kelli has been a versatile player for us since she first came to CBS Communications in 1998, when we worked together on the Nagano Olympics, said McClintock. After performing with distinction time and time again, she will now draw upon her significant expertise in Entertainment, News and Sports to extend her purview and help communicate the compelling growth story we have in front of us at CBS. I couldn't be more pleased to see Kelli earn this promotion, and look forward to the whole new set of contributions she will make.
At the same time, it was also announced today that Shannon Jacobs, who has served as Senior Vice President, Communications, CBS Corporation since early last year, and as Vice President since 2005, will become a senior consultant to the Department, advising on a number of subjects, including carriage agreements and Washington issues.
Shannon joined our team at a pivotal time, just as we were launching the new CBS Corporation, said McClintock. Her contributions since then have been immeasurable, and during her tenure at CBS she has established herself as one of the most respected media relations executives in our business. Her decision to leave is made easier by the fact that she will stay connected with us as a consultant going forward and, of course, as a great friend, as well.
Jacobs will continue in her current role through the launch of the new fall season, when Raftery transitions to her East Coast responsibilities full-time.
A veteran of CBS, Raftery has most recently been serving as Vice President, Communications, CBS Entertainment, overseeing the CBS Daytime publicity group, while also serving as lead publicist responsible for launching and overseeing all aspects of publicity on THE TALK.
Prior to that, Raftery was Vice President, Communications at CBS News. She rejoined the Network in March 2010 as a freelancer, providing publicity coverage for CBS Corporate and CBS News' communications departments.
Previously, Raftery served as Director, Communications at Sports Illustrated Group, overseeing weekly editorial content publicity for Sports Illustrated magazine and SI.com.
Before that, she held various communications and publicity positions within CBS Corporation, including Director, CBS Entertainment Communications, where she was responsible for publicity on primetime entertainment series, movies and specials, including HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and THE BIG BANG THEORY. Prior to that, Raftery served as Manager, NCAA Properties, acting as liaison between CBS Sports and the NCAA, overseeing all aspects of the contract between the two parties. Previously, Raftery was CBS's Senior Broadcast Communications Representative, serving as lead publicist for the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship and the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, as well as a contributing publicist for the NFL ON CBS and the Network's pre-game show, THE NFL TODAY. Prior to that, she was Press Coordinator for CBS Sports' coverage of the 1998 Winter Olympics. Raftery began her career in production at CBS Sports as a sports researcher and then as a broadcast associate, where she was responsible for on-air graphics at events, including the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, NCAA Football, auto racing, boxing and pro beach volleyball.
A New Jersey native, Raftery has a B.A. in English from Georgetown University. She lives in Santa Monica and will move to New York City this fall, where she will be based.
Jacobs has been with CBS for nearly 10 years, having joined the Company in late 2005 as Vice President, CBS Communications Group, a position she assumed as CBS was preparing to become a standalone entity apart from Viacom. She was promoted to Senior Vice President, Communications, CBS Corporation in early 2014. Before joining CBS, Jacobs served for four years as Director of Corporate Communications at NBC Universal, where she led media relations for a number of divisions, including research, standards and practices, legal and regulatory affairs.
Prior to working in the media industry, Jacobs spent four years on Capitol Hill, first as a press aide to U.S. House Democratic Leader Richard A. Gephardt and later as Communications Director and Chief Spokesperson for Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). She also managed local campaigns as Director of Public Affairs at a San Francisco-based political consulting firm and headed Alexander Ogilvy's West Coast policy team, advising clients on media relations pertaining to regulatory and legislative issues.
A Nebraska native, Jacobs received her B.A. in journalism from the University of Nebraska. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Garrett, and their two daughters; they are moving to Weston, Conn., in June.
