Outspoken local blogger Shannon Reardon has been hired as a Communications Specialist with the Liberal Opposition office.
Reardon starts work on Monday with the party, which, like its federal counterpart, has a lot of rebuilding to do. She will report to Peter Miles, the Director of Communications with the Liberal Opposition.
Reardon has had a long connection to the party.
“My work with government (while an undergrad) goes way back now to the Tobin-Tulk-Grimes era when I was a parliamentary page for two years, from 1999-2001, and I worked as a summer student for two summers on the Hill with Joan Marie Aylward back then, first in Municipal Affairs and then in Finance.”
Reardon has risen to prominence in recent months through her blog, The Fighting Newfoundlander, in which she keeps a cynical eye on the activities of the Dunderdale Government. She has also been highly critical, on her Facebook profile, of former premier Danny Williams.
Reardon has no direct experience in public relations, but has studied political science at Memorial University and has long been a Liberal supporter.
“I think that having always been a Liberal, even when it was massively unpopular to be so in the Williams years, and my blogging - in particular - and social media participation certainly helped. My background is History (some Honours and Graduate level work completed before I began a B.Ed) and Political Science, and then a short stint teaching high school in Grand Bank and here.”
Reardon says that blogging and social media can be influential in cultivating career opportunities.
“(Through) social media political participation, and it doesn't necessarily have to be political – it could go for any area of interest – one can possibly find opportunities opening up for them and coming their way. So, it is indeed advantageous to be involved, especially in this connected world we live in.”
You can read Shannon Reardon’s blog here: http://thefightingnewf.wordpress.com/
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While the Liberal party did advertise publicly for its Director of Communications, Researcher and Chief of Staff (and then appointed at least 2 of those 3 without interviews at all), I can find no advert for a Communications Specialist. The NDP did publicly advertise for a Director of Communications and interviews have been held. The PC government no longer advertises for Directors of Communications, choosing to promote from within their army of communications and political staffers.