This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Ruth Todd is returning to a television near you - albeit in a decidedly different role.The longtime local news anchorwoman has accepted a position as the LDS Church's media spokeswoman. She'll be a primary contact for local broadcast and print journalists who are looking for official Church comments on a wide variety of issues. Which means you'll be seeing her on TV and reading her quotes in print.
"It's not a big change for me — I've been here for a couple of years now," she said. "but I'm sure it will be different for people to see me answering questions instead of asking them. I'm looking forward to working with the media.
Todd has worked in the media relations department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since May 2011, making speeches, responding to questions and meeting with a variety of groups.(She was one of those representing the church in a meeting with gay-rights freedom riders a year ago.)Todd is a familiar face in Utah. She anchored the news on KSL for a decade, leaving that station in a contract dispute in 2002. From there she moved to KTVX, where she anchored the news for another five years.She even spent a year at KUTV-Channel 2 from 1983-84 before moving on to stations in Phoenix and Washington, D.C.Todd is replacing Scott Trotter, who spent the past 6½ years dealing with media questions. Trotter isn't leaving the LDS Church's media department; he will be working in community and inter-faith relations.