Doug Dowie hangs out a new shingle

Doug Dowie, the former Fleishman-Hillard executive and Daily News managing editor, is back in business in the LA area with a new public affairs venture. Evolution Communications introduces itself on the web this way: "in a chaotic media environment where disruption is considered an achievement, there is no substitute for experience." Dowie announced on Facebook this week that the firm is open for business.

The team at Evolution Communications brings decades of experience in every facet of public relations and strategic communications. We’ve managed multi-million dollar public relations engagements, handled scores of crises, written best-selling books, edited newspapers and helped elect candidates.

We’ve been on both sides of just about every fence.

Based in Los Angeles, the news capital of the nation, our associates have played key roles in the evolution of the city’s politics, media and culture over the last three decades, while also managing national and international communication challenges.

Dowie went to federal prison in 2011 on charges arising from the overcharging of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power for PR work during the James Hahn mayoral administration at City Hall, when Dowie was a power player of sorts. There's no mention of the criminal case in his bio on the site. It does mention his experience at Fleishman-Hillard, UPI and the Daily News, and that he was an aide to then-Assemblyman Richard Katz in the Valley. Also this: "Doug has also recently consulted for international energy and construction companies, in addition to real estate, entertainment, planning and public affairs firms. He also completed a screenplay, 'Anonymous Sources,' which was optioned by Academy Award-winning producer Jonathon Sanger, a partner in Grand Illusions Entertainment."

His associates in the firm include author and former LA Times Calendar writer Bill Knoedelseder, former UPI veteran Bill Bucy and Ninon Aprea, the vice president of corporate communications for green energy company Railscout who formerly worked for SAG and WGA.

Previously on LA Observed:
Doug Dowie takes a step back from prison
Dowie reports to prison Friday
Dowie in his own words