CNBC's Jim Goldman Jumps Over to PR; Jon Fortt Moves From Fortune to CNBC

Burson-Marsteller has named CNBC Silicon Valley bureau chief Jim Goldman as the firm's new U.S. Technology Practice Chair. According to Burson's release, Goldman "will now look to help companies develop strategies to bridge old media traditions and new media opportunities. Goldman will be based in San Francisco and report to U.S. President and CEO Pat Ford and Global Chair of the Technology Practice Jennifer Graham Clary."

Jim's a great guy, but I think he's going to have a steep learning curve. In TV, he's been used to covering the big players -- Apple, Google, Yahoo, Oracle -- and telling big stories about them, such as Apple's iPad and Oracle's multibillion dollar acquisitions. One of the harshest realities of PR is that most of the clients are not nearly as newsworthy as those household names. The job of the PR person becomes to create some black magic that makes them newsworthy.

Jim, I wish you luck. Please feel free to give me a shout when you get to the City if you need some help making the transition.

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Update: TechCrunch reports that Fortune's Jon Fortt is taking Goldman's place at CNBC.