ABC Head Of PR Hope Hartman Departs To Do Docus, Starting with ‘The Judy Effect’
After a decade at ABC, Hope Hartman, who has overseen communications for the network and ABC Studios as SVP Communications for ABC Entertainment, is leaving. Her last day is today.
Hartman now plans to focus on documentary-making full time. During her stint at ABC, which she joined as VP Media Relations in 2006, Hartman directed her first documentary, Book Club, which she completed in 2012. It screened at festivals, was optioned for development as a series at the CW and now is distributed by Indican and available on streaming platforms.
Hartman has two new documentaries lined up: The Judy Effect, which begins shooting Thursday, and Booked, eyed for a late-fall start.
The Judy Effect will chronicle the life of humanitarian Judy M. Miller, who died in February at 77. Miller served as VP and Director of the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize for 18 years, elevating it as one of the most impactful humanitarian grants of our time, after a remarkable four-decade career in communications and marketing during which she made breakthroughs for women. She was one of the first women to hold an executive position at a major Japanese corporation and one of the first to work openly alongside men in Saudi Arabia. She traveled the globe from Bosnian war zones to the slums of India to remote plains of Africa.
Hartman had a long personal relationship with Miller. Before joining ABC, Hartman had her own PR firm, Fingers Crossed Communications, whose clients included the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, as well as UCLA, ABC Family and ABC Daytime.
Booked (working title), a follow-up to Book Club, explores the world of book tours, where some of the most memorable characters aren’t actually in the books.
A replacement for Hartman at ABC is expected to be named soon.
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