Essex DA announces communications staffing change

Longtime Essex District Attorney Spokesman Steve O?Connell has been named the office?s Director of Social Media effective today, according to a press release from Essex DA Jonathan Blodgett.?In order to address the changing nature of the media and the need for a social media presence, Steve O?Connell has been appointed Director of Social Media and will assume responsibility for directing and implementing a social media strategy for this office,” Blodgett said in the release.As O?Connell steps into his new role, former Assistant Communications Director Carrie Kimball Monahan will take over as Director of Communications, handling all media inquiries and media outreach, the press release said.Kimball Monahan will receive a salary of $62,500, while O?Connell will continue to make $76,000, O?Connell said Tuesday. In addition to maintaining the office?s social media tools, which he said will include Twitter and Facebook accounts, O?Connell said he will continue to administer the district courts.?Social media is another tool that we?ll use in addition to conventional media to get our message out about the latest news and issues of the office,” said O?Connell, who has worked in the DA?s office for 25 years.In addition to the media division shake-up, Assistant District Attorney Marsha Slingerland will return to her former job in the Appeals Division, assisting Chief Elin Graydon with what the press release described as “the ever-increasing appellate caseload.”?I am confident that these staffing changes will best serve the needs of this office going forward,” Blodgett said in the release.Taylor Provost can be reached at [email protected].