Bob Magnuson

Bob uniquely combines high-level journalism and high-stakes public relations experience, having worked as a reporter, editor, publisher, CEO and communications consultant. He understands how journalists think and the pressures news organizations face in today’s fast-changing media landscape.

Bob has successfully represented government, corporate and nonprofit clients on a broad range of media, messaging, social media, crisis and litigation issues. He was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to serve as chief of communications and external affairs for the California High-Speed Rail Authority. He spent 20 years at the Los Angeles Times as a reporter, editor and executive and was a senior editor on newsroom staffs that won Pulitzer Prizes for the Los Angeles riots and Northridge Earthquake. He also was the CEO of InfoWorld Media Group.

Bob has worked closely on coverage with state, national and international media outlets; and he has worked with leading national law firms on high-profile crisis and criminal and civil litigation issues. Bob is a former Distinguished Fellow in the Future of Media at Chapman University, chair of the board of trustees of PBS SoCal, and adjunct professor of journalism at UC Berkeley. He graduated with honors in political science from UC Berkeley, and has an MA in economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and an MSc from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.