The Dallas Morning News is reporting that Mayor Eric Johnson has hired city editor Tristan Hallman, who oversaw the paper’s coverage of City Hall and Dallas County government for just shy of a year. The mayor apparently approached him in July regarding a “policy and communication role,” a month or so after Johnson won the election. But the paper reported that the job had not been posted as of 3 p.m. today, which goes against city policy. By 4 p.m., a posting was up for chief of community and media relations in the mayor’s office and is scheduled to come down at 7 p.m.
Hallman joined the paper full time in 2013, after two internships. His beats have included breaking news, public safety, and Dallas City Hall. He’s served as the editor for city and county government for the past 10 months. Hallman is also charged with editing columnists Sharon Grigsby and Robert Wilonsky.
He told The News about the gig today, and his bosses determined it to be a conflict of interest for him to serve out his final two weeks. He’s not the only Dallas journalist to find their way to the mayor’s office: former Dallas Observer writer Sam Merten was hired as Mayor Mike Rawlings’ public relations chief a couple years after leaving the paper. He was replaced by Scott Goldstein, who had been working as a digital content strategist for Baylor Scott & White Health after an eight-year career at The News.
Hallman said he couldn’t comment on the new job.
