Margaret Smoot, president of Smoot Productions and former director of Creative Services at KSL television, is the new managing director of public communications at Brigham Young University.
BYU President Rex E. Lee on Tuesday announced Smoot's appointment, effective Feb. 1, 1992. Smoot will succeed Paul C. Richards, who is retiring early to pursue other interests."We are impressed with Margaret's extensive accomplishments in the public media industry and are pleased she has consented to serve as BYU's chief spokesperson," Lee said.
Smoot will direct seven full-time and 10 part-time employees in the Public Communications Office, which produces print and broadcast features about BYU and handles media inquiries. The office answers to Ronald G. Hyde, executive assistant to the president for development and university relations.
Ninety-one people applied for the position, Richards said. Six applicants survived the first cut and three made the university's short list.
"Obviously she's had extensive experience in the media and private business," Richards said. "She understands the media, and we believed she would understand the workings of a larger organization such as BYU and help each understand the other."
Smoot said the position and her skills will be an appropriate fit. She also said she couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with Lee and Provost Bruce Hafen. She vowed to be a diplomat as the university's spokeswoman.
"I have done a number of different things professionally," Smoot said. "This lets me blend my news experience with my production and public relations with a university that I think is the most outstanding in the country."
There will be "good opportunities when not responding to (media requests) to create publicity and an image BYU needs to take it into the next century," Smoot said.
Smoot, who said she is a "young 45," lives in Salt Lake City and plans to commute to Provo.
The Salt Lake native graduated magna cum laude in English and history from the University of Utah where she was a Phi Beta Kappa, a member of the Beehive Honorary Society and president of Chi Omega Sorority.
She taught at Olympus and Skyline high schools before joining KSL television in 1974 as a news reporter. In 1976, Smoot became executive director of the Salt Lake Council for the Arts, where she organized the first Festival of the Arts on Main Street, an event that later became the Utah Arts Festival.
Smoot returned to KSL-TV in 1980 as an anchor/reporter. She subsequently became director of public affairs/special projects and finally director of creative services.
She left KSL in 1988 to start her own production company, which produces LDS programs for cable television and video products for the LDS market.
Her "Christmas Sampler" productions earned a Rocky Mountain Emmy Award in 1986 and a Bronze Award in 1987 at the International Film and TV Festival of New York. She is author of the 1980 LDS Sesquicentennial production "Within These Walls," and co-author with Michael McLean and Newell Dayley of "Let It Ring," a 1987 Promised Valley Playhouse musical celebration for the 200th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution.