Reuters spokeswoman Barb Burg dies at 50

Thomson Reuters spokeswoman Barb Burg. [Photo: Twitter]

Barb Burg, a familiar face in New York City’s public relations landscape who worked for publishers and media organizations for nearly three decades, died on Tuesday at the age of 50.

Burg started her career at Bantam Doubleday Dell in the mid-1980s where she worked alongside prolific authors such as Dean Koontz, Stephen Hawking, Lee Child and Tom Robbins. She briefly ran her own public relations company before joining Thomson Reuters as the global head of communications for Reuters News in 2011.

For three years, Burg worked as a liaison between the company and the public, communicating Reuters’ media and business strategies and yielding to questions posed by reporters on the company’s day-to-day operations.

The cause of death was unknown. A Thomson Reuters spokesperson has not yet returned a request from The Desk for comment.

She is survived by her husband, Steven Shieffelin, and their two teenage children. The family is requesting those who knew Burg to honor her memory by making a donation to Camp TaKumTa, a summer program for children diagnosed with cancer.

Publishers Weekly: Thomson Reuters spokeswoman Barb Burg dies

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