MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES CHIEF OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES CHIEF OF COMMUNICATIONS 

FOR BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

BOSTON - April 1, 2015 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced today the appointment of Richard Weir as Chief of Communications for Boston Public Schools. In this position, Weir will be responsible for stewarding communications for all schools within the Boston Public School system, overseeing media relations, web publishing, social media and district publications. Weir currently serves as City Hall Bureau Chief for the Boston Herald. Weir will join the City of Boston on April 13. 

The Boston School Committee recently voted to name Dr. Tommy Chang as the next Superintendent of Boston Public Schools. Dr. Chang will begin on July 1. 

"Rich Weir is a professional and experienced reporter who has covered Boston in the press for more than six years," Mayor Walsh said. "He knows our neighborhoods inside and out and he is more than familiar with our school system. I have enjoyed the opportunity to work with Rich as a reporter and I have seen first-hand his passion for making Boston a better city. I am excited to bring his knowledge and integrity to Boston Public Schools and I look forward to having him on our team."

With more than two decades of experience as a newspaper reporter in Boston, New York and Maine, Weir has been recognized through numerous press awards for deadline, feature and analytical writing. Writing for the Boston Herald, he has covered the last two mayoral elections and produced in-depth investigative articles on a range of issues and governmental agencies. 

Weir also worked as a writer for the City Section of the New York Times before moving to the New York Daily News in 2000 to serve as a police reporter. In this position, Weir covered major crime and breaking news stories, including the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. Weir is a frequent guest on Boston Herald Radio and was featured in the book, "The Elements of Story," written by former New York Times columnist and editor Francis Flaherty, for his instinct in finding enterprising story ideas. 

Weir graduated from Clark University in 1989 and earned a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1992.