Bio

Seth Gitell is a writer, political analyst and communications consultant. His consulting work for corporate and nonprofit clients focuses on writing, public relations, media training, crisis management, and public affairs.

Gitell.com has been cited in the print editions of The Boston Globe and The Washington Post. A former WordPress “Blog of the Day,” it has been linked to at Slate, Boston.com and Politico, among other sites.

He appears frequently as a political analyst on New England Cable News. He has lectured on communications strategy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and Northeastern University. He speaks frequently on press, politics and communications.

From 2003 to 2006, Gitell served as press secretary to Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. According to The Boston Globe, “Gitell presided over media relations during some of the best and worst times of Menino’s tenure.” As the senior communications official for the City of Boston, Gitell oversaw and coordinated press efforts for all municipal agencies often managing complex crisis situations. Besides having managed day-to-day media inquiries on everything from snow removal to homeland security, Gitell has helped craft and execute media strategy for such historic events as the first national political convention after September 11, the first Red Sox World Championship win since 1917, “rolling rallies” to celebrate two New England Patriots Super Bowl victories, and the May 17, 2004 first-in-the-nation issuance of same-sex marriage licenses at Boston’s City Hall.

Most recently, Gitell analyzed the 2008 presidential race as a columnist and contributing editor of The New York Sun. His work also appeared in Boston Magazine.

 Before joining the Mayor’s staff, Gitell covered local, state and national politics for The Boston Phoenix. While there, Gitell was the first journalist to write about the central role that Senator John Kerry’s Vietnam service would play in his presidential campaign. Gitell was also the first to suggest the positive trajectory Mitt Romney would enjoy if he chose to return to the Commonwealth from Utah and run for governor.

 Previously, Gitell served as the Washington D.C. correspondent for the Forward, a national Jewish weekly newspaper, where he covered the White House, the State Department, Congress and national politics. His coverage of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s successful senate campaign resulted in two front-page splashes in the New York Post: “Hillary’s Chutzpah,” regarding the then-first lady’s shift on Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and later “Oy Vey! Hillary’s Almost Jewish,” which revealed for the first time that she has Jewish relatives. Gitell has appeared as a commentator on MSNBC, Fox News, CNN’s Inside Politics, Keller-at-Large, NECN’s Newsnight and other local news programs. He has guest hosted on WTKK 96.9 FM Talk with Michele McPhee of The Boston Herald.

He has written for The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic and The Los Angeles Times. His article, “The Democratic Party Suicide Bill,” concerning the ramifications of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law, was published in the July/August 2003 issue of The Atlantic Monthly.

A graduate of the New York University School of Law, Gitell is a member of the Massachusetts and New York bars. He is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Harvard College. Gitell’s senior thesis in history, “Broken Promise: The Story of U.S. Army Special Forces and the Dega People in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam, 1961 – 1965” was published by Radix Press in 1996. He, his wife and son currently live in Roslindale, Mass with their son.