Mayor-elect Madeline Rogero announced today that she has appointed two experienced Knoxville journalists to communications positions in her new administration.

Angela Starke, weekend anchor and reporter at WVLT-TV, will become senior director of communications, and Jesse Fox Mayshark, managing editor of Metro Pulse, will be communications manager.

“During my campaign, I promised an open and transparent administration, and these appointments will help me carry out that pledge,” Rogero said. “Angela and Jesse bring an understanding of what media organizations need to cover city government, and they share my commitment to openness and the public’s right to know.”

In their roles, Starke will help develop strategies to communicate the administration’s programs and initiatives, and Mayshark will be responsible for day-to-day relationships with the news media.

Before joining WVLT, Starke was a reporter for WJLA TV/ABC 7 News, the network affiliate in Washington, D.C., covering local and national stories. In 2008, she won an Achievement Award from the Time to Fly Foundation for stories on domestic violence.

She began her career at the Gainesville, Texas, newspaper and then reported and held editing positions for several newspapers, including the Washington Post and USA Today.  She is a graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority and has been active with the Society of Professional Journalists.

Mayshark is a former editor of Metro Pulse who returned to Knoxville last year to become managing editor at the publication. He first joined Metro Pulse in 1997 and became editor in 2000. He left in 2002 to become an editor in The New York Times news service department and while there contributed to the paper’s Arts section.

Prior to joining Metro Pulse, Mayshark was a reporter for the Knoxville News Sentinel.