Here's the official e-mail from Ford chief PR man Charlie Halloran on FoMoCo's snatching up of Mark Truby, business editor of the Detroit News :
"I am delighted to announce that Mark Truby, Business and Project Editor at The Detroit News, is joining the Ford Motor Company Communications team as Director of Global Corporate News. Mark will join our team in August and report to Ray Day, Executive Director, Global Corporate Communications. Reporting to Mark will be Tom Hoyt, Manager, Global News; and Jennifer Moore, Manager, Corporate and Sustainability Communications.
I know many of you have worked with Mark during the years and have come to regard him as a consummate professional, who enjoys the respect of other journalists and the business leaders he covers. He has earned a reputation as a team player and a team builder, which are essential qualities in Ford's "working together" cultural revolution. I have told Mark that, in joining Ford, he will have an opportunity to work with the most professional and supportive group of colleagues he is ever likely to encounter. Mark also has made it clear to Ray and to me that he looks forward to learning from everyone at Ford and contributing broadly as our team continues to implement our plan and refocus our efforts to rebuild Ford's reputation.
Mark comes to Ford with a wealth of knowledge about our company and our business, having covered us for the past seven years. Under Mark's leadership, The Detroit News has won numerous state and national awards, including the Gerald R. Loeb Award, the nation's top award for business journalism, and the International Golden Wheel for outstanding automotive coverage. In addition, The Detroit News' business section this year was named one of the top three in the nation in its circulation category by The Society of American Business Editors and Writers. Before joining The Detroit News, Mark worked as reporter for USA Today and The Herald-Dispatch of Huntington, West Virginia. Mark and his wife, Kathleen, live in Ferndale, Mich., with their three sons.
This is an exciting time to be in Ford Communications. As we saw in our North American all-hands meeting recently, we are aligning all our efforts with Alan Mulally's well-articulated plan for the turnaround of this great company. We are securing help where we need it, like Direct Impact's work to bolster our grassroots communications and, soon, support from the Social Media Group and other experts to help us make our digital communication capabilities the envy of this and every industry.
Also at our all-hands meeting, Diana Greig outlined a process we are starting in North America to improve team members' skills and development. This is part of a function-wide commitment to improve our effectiveness and create new opportunities - and it will lead to an ongoing process for best-practice sharing and people development globally.
I am energized by the enthusiastic support for our plan, and I am more confident than ever that we are heading down the correct path to achieve long-term success.
Charlie Holleran
VP & Chief Communications Officer
Ford Motor Company
Yeah, I dunno how much "respect" he's gonna have from other journalists now, especially with the very direct and obvious ties Ford will now have with the Detroit News. But if he does, good for him.