"This was a personal choice to make a career switch at this point in my life and I'm excited for the change," De la Vega wrote.

Her departure from broadcast news is bittersweet, she said in a Facebook post on Monday. "I've laughed, I've smiled, I've cried, I've felt I've made an impact," she said of her time in TV news.

De la Vega comes to the position with a background in general-assignment and breaking-news reporting. She spent five years at KLAS-TV in Las Vegas, then worked at KTVU for 12 years and most recently spent about a year at KGO-TV.

Janine De la Vega has been hired to serve as the department's lead spokesperson and handle public communications, according to a city press release.

Her annual salary will be $125,000, according to the department. The public-affairs manager job was the only new General Fund position that City Manager James Keene proposed in the city budget for the current fiscal year.

Her responsibilities include writing news releases, compiling public service announcements, organizing crime prevention campaigns and updating the department's social media channels. The agency has a substantial presence on Twitter, with 22,500 followers. It also has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Nixle, Flickr and Nextdoor.

She succeeds Capt. Zach Perron, who currently heads the department's Field Service Division that encompasses patrol, traffic and special operations. He had served as public-information manager since October 2011.

"I'm confident that our residents and media partners alike will find the addition of Janine to our team enhances even further our commitment to transparency and builds on our reputation for providing critical public-safety information in a timely and factual way," Police Chief Robert Jonsen stated in the press release. "Janine's background and experience, coupled with her familiarity with the demands placed on today's journalists, make her a perfect fit for us."

She was selected for the non-sworn position from a pool of more than 80 applicants whom the department has been reviewing since last September. Her first day on the job was Tuesday.

Follow Palo Alto Online and the Palo Alto Weekly on Twitter @paloaltoweekly , Facebook and on Instagram @paloaltoonline for breaking news, local events, photos, videos and more.

Police Department hires first public-affairs manager

Janine De la Vega comes to department after stints at KGO-TV, KTVU