Goodbye King 5, Hello City Hall

Yep, that proverbial revolving door is rampant in lil' Seattle too. News this afternoon is that News Up Front host Robert Mak is leaving King 5 to become Mayor Nickels' communications director and senior policy advisor. He'll be filling the spot left last fall by Marianne Bichsel, who went to work for Casey Family Programs (which, incidentally, is also where Marty McOmber landed last month after leaving his post as Nickels' spokesperson.)

Says Nickels:

"Robert brings a keen sense of policy and communications to our team."

Add to that: a recognizable face, ability to do his own make-up, and decades of experience in front of a camera. And the pay ain't half bad, even for a broadcast journo. Mak, who starts his new gig June 9th, will be making $160,000, according to the mayor's office-- that's $1,000 more than the mayor himself makes every year.