Apple vet takes reins of Cupertino’s PR machine, for now

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Meet Steve Dowling, Apple's new interim head of PR.
Meet Steve Dowling, Apple's new interim head of PR.

Apple has looked within its own ranks to find who will lead its “friendlier” PR approach, at least for now. Despite looking at outside candidates like former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, the company has settled on one of its own veterans as interim PR boss.

Steve Dowling, who has been instrumental in coordinating Apple’s corporate PR since he joined in 2003, has been tapped to replace his former boss Katie Cotton, who abruptly left Apple before WWDC earlier this year. Like Cotton, Dowling was groomed under the Steve Jobs era of Apple PR, a time when it was better to tell the press as little as possible.

“Dowling’s appointment has been framed to employees as an interim one and I’m told Apple will continue to evaluate worthy outside candidates if one should pop up,” according to John Paczkowski in his daily Code/red column.

Dowling has been described as more friendly with reporters and a close friend of Tim Cook. He started his career as on the other side of the news desk as CNBC’s Washington and later Silicon Valley Bureau Chief.

His promotion begs the question of what will happen to Nat Kerris, another Apple vet who has been managing its PR machine alongside Dowling since Cotton departed. Of the two, Kerris has been said to be more Cotton-like in her approach to the press.

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