Julie Donaldson is Official as SVP of Media

The Washington NFL franchise made a huge hire on Tuesday that is being extremely well received. Julie Donaldson is making the jump!

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The Washington NFL organization is changing right before our eyes on an every day basis. Out with most of the old and in with a lot of new blood. 

The franchise made it official what was first reported by J.P. Finlay of NBC Sports Washington that former NBCSW anchor and reporter Julie Donaldson is taking on a significant broadcast and media role with the team. 

From Washington PR (a partial statement):

LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. – Washington announced today they have named Julie Donaldson as Senior Vice President of Media. She takes on the role effective immediately.

“Julie Donaldson is a trailblazing journalist who has worked on multiple award-winning shows and has a passion for sports in the DMV. She has contributed countless hours of her time to work alongside Tanya and WOW (Women of Washington) to help raise awareness for breast cancer. She has been a staple in the community and I can’t think of anyone better to lead our organization’s in-house media and content into this new digital age.” said Owner Dan Snyder.

Donaldson will be overseeing the entire broadcast operation in the organization along with being a permanent member of the gameday radio broadcast. She will also be adding her input and vision towards all of the club’s in-house creative content.

“It is with great humility and sincere appreciation that I accept this new role. This is a challenge I’ve been preparing and working towards for nearly 20 years in sports media, including the last decade in Washington. I am excited to join the organization as we begin a new era and I look forward to working with my new colleagues in making it stronger than ever. I also want to thank Dan and the Washington Organization for trusting me with this tremendous opportunity,” said Donaldson.

Donaldson will be the first female to be a regular on-air member of an NFL radio broadcast booth according to NFL Research.

Terry Bateman, Chief Marketing Officer, remarked, “I couldn’t be more pleased to welcome Julie to the team. Julie is not only an accomplished media professional, she has an exciting vision of where she wants to take our team’s media and content properties. I look forward to working with her to make them a reality.”

Donaldson replaces Larry Michael, who abruptly resigned last week and then was accused of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct by the Washington Post's report. 

This is a super-smart move for so many reasons for Terry Bateman, Dan Snyder and Ron Rivera along with the organization. 

There have been many talented reporters that I've worked with, both male and female and Donaldson is absolutely in the top-tier. 

She's pleasant, hard working, talented and passionate without creating any controversy. 

For an organization going through a massive overhaul and 'taking out the trash' as one source put it last week - this is a fresh and invigorating move. 

Well done & kudos to all involved. 

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Chris Russell is the Publisher of this site, a part of SI.com. He can be heard on 106.7 The FAN in the Washington D.C. area and world-wide on Radio.com. Chris also hosts the "Locked on Redskins" Podcast and can be read via subscription to Warpath Magazine. You can e-mail Chris at russellmania09@Gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @Russellmania621