Contact: Scott Warner
703-744-7824
swarner@qorvis.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 

TOP SENATE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR AND AWARD WINNING TV NEWS REPORTER/ANCHOR JOINS QORVIS COMMUNICATIONS

Washington , DC, June 17, 2003 – Qorvis Communications, LLC today continued adding to its stable of some of the best communicators in America by adding Rich Masters as a managing director.  Masters is the former policy and communications director of Senator Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA).  

Prior to joining Sen. Landrieu's first Senate campaign in 1996, Masters was an award winning news reporter and anchor for television stations in Louisiana, Illinois and Iowa. In 1991, he was nominated for two regional Emmy Awards for a documentary on homelessness and in 1992 at age 30, was a finalist for the Livingston Foundation award for Best Young Journalist in America.  

"Rich has a combination of experience and skills that is very rare indeed," said Michael Petruzzello, managing partner of Qorvis. "He understands what drives a newsroom and what drives the U.S. Senate, but more importantly, he knows instinctively what drives voters and consumers. 15 years ago, what Congress acted on drove news coverage. Now news coverage drives what Congress acts on, and few people understand both, and now most of them work at Qorvis." 

After helping Sen. Landrieu win the closest Senate election in 1996, he joined her team on Capitol Hill as communications director. Three years later, Sen. Landrieu promoted him to policy and communications director, effectively overseeing both the legislative and communications teams. In 2002, Masters was one of the architects who helped design Sen. Landrieu's reelection campaign strategy, an election she won despite being outspent nearly three to one by her opponents and facing a national trend against Democrats. 

Masters will help develop Qorvis' state-of-the-art media relations training center in the company's Washington, DC office so that clients will be better prepared to "meet the press" and communicate their message through any broadcast media.  

"Qorvis is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing communications companies in America and I am honored to be joining their team. The company's unique ‘hands-on' approach to growing companies and in turn growing jobs is the main reason I wanted to be part of this group," Masters said. "I am excited about getting to work with some of the most energetic and focused group of PR professionals in America, a group that takes winning as seriously as I do." 

About Qorvis

Qorvis Communications is widely regarded as the largest independently owned public relations firm based in the Greater Washington, DC area. Formed in August 2000, Qorvis has offices in Washington, DC and McLean, Virginia, and provides its clients with expertise in the areas of investor and financial relations, public affairs, grass roots campaigns, public and media relations, marketing communications and research and opinion surveys. The Washington, DC based law firm of Patton Boggs is an investor in and strategic partner to Qorvis.