Cox News' Andy Alexander just sent the following note, obtained by FishbowlDC, to staffers (Rebecca Carr is Cox Newspaper's National Correspondent):

Staff:

After a decade of terrific work in the Washington bureau, Rebecca Carr will be leaving us early next month to become Director of Media Relations and Communications for Patton Boggs, one of the city's best known law firms that specializes in public policy advocacy. She'll take with her our deep gratitude, our lasting friendship and our best wishes for the future. Over the past ten years - first as the AJC's regional, then as a member of the Cox national staff - she's covered some of the major stories of modern history, from the impeachment trial of President Clinton to the 9/11 terror attacks. She created the bureau's Justice Department beat and developed sources deep inside the agency that have kept us in the lead on stories of special interest to Cox readers. She launched two highly successful specialty beats (nonprofits and secrecy) which brought her, and the bureau, national acclaim. Her secrecy coverage won a Society of Professional Journalists award for national reporting and within the open government community she is the country's best-known reporter on secrecy and open government.

Rebecca has made numerous other valuable contributions, large and small, to the greater journalism community and has significantly raised the visibility of the bureau and Cox. She is a past president of the Washington Press Club Foundation, which raises money for minority scholarships and oral histories of female reporters dating back to the early part of the last century. And she has served as a member and chair of the Steering Committee of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Her new job will take full advantage of her journalistic skills and her deep knowledge of government and media. She'll work closely with the firm's senior management in a broad range of areas covering public relations, public information and marketing.

Rebecca's last day will be May 2. We'll have a more formal farewell around that time. But in the meantime, please congratulate her and offer your best wishes. AA