Appointment of Karna Small as Director of White House Media Relations and Planning

The President today announced the appointment of Karna Small to be Director, Media Relations and Planning.

Ms. Small, Deputy Assistant to the President and currently serving as Deputy Press Secretary, will direct the Office of Media Relations and Planning, which will have responsibility for long-range planning in communicating the President's programs, media liaison with editors and broadcasters across the country, and the White House Speakers' Bureau.

In her new post, she will be reporting to the Assistant to the President for Communications, David Gergen.

Prior to joining the administration in January 1981, Ms. Small was the writer and moderator of a public affairs television program, produced by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which was syndicated in 135 television markets nationwide. She also hosted a 3-hour radio program on WRC Radio (NBC) in Washington on political and economic issues, with guests from the current administration, the House and Senate, business, labor, and academia.

Previously, from 1976 to 1978, she anchored the 10 p.m. news on WTTG-TV in Washington, D.C. From 1972 to 1976, Ms. Small anchored the early evening news on KGO-TV (ABC) in San Francisco, and from 1968 to 1972, she was featured on three newscasts per day on KRON-TV (NBC). During this time, she also commuted to Los Angeles to appear on the 6 p.m. news on KNBC-TV (NBC). Before this, she appeared in many freelance films in the San Francisco Bay area.

Ms. Small received her B.A. degree (with honors) from the University of Michigan and studied journalism and television news in the graduate schools at Stanford and San Francisco State Universities.

She is married to Dan Stringer, executive vice president of The Interface Group, and she has three sons. Ms. Small is a native of Wilmette, Ill.