Media training in the time of zoom
Turn on any news broadcast and you will see an anchor conducting a remote video interview or a reporter talking to someone in their story through a computer screen. Covid has changed the way we do a lot of things, including the [...]
READ MORE19 March, 2021
Litigator’s Corner: An Interview with Michael S. Sitrick
I was recently interviewed by Hillary Johns, a prominent member of the Beverly Hills Bar Association and its Litigation Section for their podcast. [...]
READ MORE05 March, 2021
Lessons from a Cat: Check Your Zoom Settings
"I am not a cat." Never in a million years or even during a once in a century pandemic, would a Judge ever expect to hear those words from an attorney or see a cuddly cat face addressing him. But he did. [...]
READ MORE19 February, 2021
Time to Give Your Covid Comms a Booster Shot
The roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccines have been painfully slow, so employers still have time to update their pandemic communications plans before the drugs become more readily available. And if you don't have a Covid comms plan in place, you might want [...]
READ MORE11 February, 2021
PR Pro Mike Sitrick on Communications in a Time of Crisis
Connie Loizos and Alex Gove interview Mike Sitrick on their podcast, StrictlyVC Download about some of the current headlines and how he might advise some of today's newsmakers on how to handle their bad press. [...]
READ MORE14 November, 2020
Credibility During Times of Crisis
In my decades of experience in crisis communications, I have rarely seen such uncertain times as this for corporations and businesses, even following 9/11 and the 2008 recession. Unless you are in the enviable position of running home delivery services or toilet [...]
READ MORE30 April, 2020
Preparing for Data Breaches and Interruptions of Digital Services During a Crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to reveal new challenges few could have anticipated. Beyond the health care issues—which of course, must take priority—cybersecurity has become an increasingly critical concern—either because of outright scams or hacking of vulnerable remote [...]
READ MORE22 April, 2020
Crisis Management — A Few Basic Strategies from Sitrick And Company
We have found that with few exceptions, the best crisis communications strategies include taking control of the narrative. During a crisis, the initial communication can and often does set the tone for what follows. [...]
READ MORE08 April, 2020Responding to the COVID-19 Crisis: Update Your Contingency and Communications Plan Now
To Our Clients and Friends: We hope you are all safe and healthy during this harrowing and stressful time. We wanted to offer our help to anyone who might need it for managing this crisis or for preparing for life on the [...]
READ MORE31 March, 2020Cyber Crisis Management During an Insider Threat Incident
In a perfect world, incident response efforts would be handled quietly, without the need for cyber crisis management. Unfortunately, the pace of high profile Insider Threat incidents doesn’t show any signs of slowing down (particularly with new disclosure requirements for GDPR and [...]
READ MORE30 September, 2019THE MASTER OF SPIN
Lyz Lenz of the Columbia Journalism Review sits with Michael Sitrick, CEO and founder of Sitrick And Company in a personal interview. [...]
READ MORE27 February, 2019LEGAL CONSULTANT LIMELIGHT: MIKE SITRICK
Mike Sitrick, the founder and CEO of Sitrick And Company, is under the Legal Consultant Limelight at Lawdragon. In this in-depth interview with John Ryan, Mike Sitrick discusses his background, several of the more interesting matters that Sitrick And Company has worked [...]
READ MORE10 November, 2018Mike Sitrick’s 10 Rules of Engagement to Fix Any Scandal
If you don’t tell your story, someone else will tell it for you. Even the richest and most famous people and the largest corporate behemoths, however impervious to attack they may seem, can be crushed. [...]
READ MORE06 June, 2018He Fixes the Worst P.R. Crises Imaginable. Then Came Harvey.
Michael Sitrick built his career on helping the rich and powerful deflect damaging headlines. There was no spinning this. Interview with Mike Sitrick, appearing in the New York Times, June 1, 2018 By Abby Aguirre [...]
READ MORE01 June, 2018People on the Move
Sitrick and Company has named David Churbuck head of the agency’s newly opened Boston office. Churbuck will also be a member of the firm. He joins Sitrick from software-as-a-service company Acquia, where he was vice president, corporate marketing. [...]
READ MORE25 May, 2018Never “No Comment”: Survival Secrets From Hollywood Crisis PR Expert Michael Sitrick
“This is not a game for beginners or poseurs.” Michael Sitrick says matter-of-factly. “There are a lot of people who claim to know how to do what we do. My experience is there are very, very few who really know how to do it, [...]
READ MORE17 April, 2018Michael Sitrick: PR Crisis Manager. Street Brawler. Rock God?
As a high-profile master of global crisis management over four decades, Palisadian Michael Sitrick is used to blow back when defending the unpopular. [...]
READ MORE08 March, 2018Here’s my advice to President Trump after ‘Fire and Fury’: Crisis management expert
Michael Sitrick, Sitrick & Co. chairman & CEO and “The Fixer” author, discusses President Trump's handling of the accusations in Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury" book. [...]
READ MORE10 January, 2018The famous guru who’s helping a growing number of startups battle bad press
To land a press interview with Brogan Bambrogan, the former CTO of the transportation startup Hyperloop, who is now suing the company over breach of fiduciary duty, you must first receive the blessing of Sitrick & Company, a 28-year-old, L.A.-based public relations firm whose [...]
READ MORE08 November, 2016Meet Michael Sitrick: The ‘fixer’ you call when your reputation is on the line
Michael Sitrick is OK with the title of spinmeister. That is what he does, after all — though he sees it a bit differently than most people. “You can give me a set of facts and I can write you four stories from [...]
READ MORE21 October, 2013CU Buffs look to restore image ‘damaged’ over last 10 years
When Mateo Martinez wears University of Colorado gear out in public, people laugh at him. The 2005 CU graduate tries to defend the school by talking about the basketball teams' recent successes, but it's no use. [...]
READ MORE28 August, 2013Michael Vick ‘Villain to Hero Playbook’ …Revealed
If you were considered the #1 villain in America ... a dog fighting, law breaking bad guy ... would you pay $111K for an image makeover? Michael Vick sure did ... and it was the best money he ever spent. TMZ has obtained [...]
READ MORE16 August, 2013Skittles, Trayvon Martin and Corporate Responsibility
Over the last four years, Skittles has enjoyed an enviable social-media presence — with some 25 million followers on Facebook and more than 100,000 on Twitter, it’s one of the highest-profile brands on the web. But since Skittles’ last posts on July [...]
READ MORE29 July, 2013What A Celebrity Wizard Of Spin Can Teach You About Shaping Your Own Story
Maintaining a positive public image is hard work for any person or company--but it's easier if you understand how to get out in front of the media. L.A.'s foremost PR rep to the stars Mike Sitrick reveals a few gems from his [...]
READ MORE25 March, 2013The Education of Papa John
How America’s most famous pizza guy got schooled on the hazards of politics and media. By James Bandler with Doris Burke “Like more than one figure caught in a media cyclone, Schnatter turned to one of the most accomplished practitioners of the [...]
READ MORE05 March, 2013Hostess Speaks: Why Its Executives Deserve Bonuses
By Susan Adams After I published a story yesterday critical of Hostess Brands’ request that a bankruptcy judge grant approval for $1.8 million in executive bonuses to be paid by the insolvent company, Judge Robert Drain approved the plan and I heard [...]
READ MORE05 March, 20132010 Holmes Report Agency Report Card
“Sitrick has earned the gratitude of clients and the (sometimes grudging) respect of reporters by approaching public relations challenges in much the same way a lawyer approaches a trial: the firm does its due diligence, researches the client and the issue, develops [...]
READ MORE19 January, 2011O’Dwyer’s PR News: “Sitrick Backs China Green Amid SEC Inquiry”
China-based fertilizer producer which lists shares in the U.S. hires Sitrick and Company as it faces SEC probe, questions about its financials. Read the full story (subscription required). [...]
READ MORE15 January, 2011Sitrick and Company’s Jim Bates on Facebook Founder’s Image
Status update: Facebook founder “friends” new image By Alexei Oreskovic Reuters SAN FRANCISCO – At a conference six months ago, Facebook’s 26-year-old chief executive was literally dripping in sweat as he fielded tough questions about his company’s privacy practices and a forthcoming [...]
READ MORE18 December, 2010O’Dwyer’s PR News: “Sitrick Stands For Forstmann”
By Kevin McCauley Sitrick and Company’s Michael Sitrick is spokesperson for IMG Worldwide chairman Ted Forstmann, target of a lawsuit that claims he bet more than $600K from 2004-07 on NCAA basketball tournament games that were coached by clients of the big [...]
READ MORE01 December, 2010NY Times: Sitrick And Company Leads Cork Campaign
By Stuart Elliott The Portuguese cork industry, backed by the Portuguese government, is undertaking an American-style campaign with a green twist. Actually, “twist” might be the wrong word, because the campaign seeks to encourage wineries to use cork stoppers rather than aluminum [...]
READ MORE07 September, 2010O’DWYER’S PR NEWS: “HURD CALLS ON SITRICK”
By Greg Hazley Deposed H-P CEO Mark Hurd has hired Sitrick & Co. for PR counsel as he navigates the aftermath of his forced resignation from the Silicon Valley giant. Hurd’s departure was announced by H-P on Aug. 6 following an investigation [...]
READ MORE11 August, 2010Lt General H Steven Blum (US Army, Ret.) Joins Sitrick Brincko Group
Heads Firm’s Practice in Homeland Security Preparedness, Defense, Government Relations and Public Affairs Lieutenant General H Steven Blum (US Army, Ret.), one of the world’s leading experts on Homeland Security, has joined Sitrick Brincko Group as Managing Director and Group Practice Leader. [...]
READ MORE13 July, 2010NY Times: “Retired General Joins Sitrick Brincko”
Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum has been appointed managing director and group practice leader of Sitrick Brincko Group, a management consulting firm that offers advice in the field of strategic, crisis and corporate communications. General Blum retired from his role in the [...]
READ MORE12 July, 2010Financial Times: “The spin doctor of restructuring”
By Matthew Garrahan in Los Angeles Mike Sitrick was never supposed to work in public relations. As a young man he wanted to be a journalist and worked briefly as a reporter when, in 1969, he found himself in talks with the [...]
READ MORE16 March, 2010Maya Pogoda and Sandra Sternberg: “Communications and the 363 Sale Process”
From the Daily Bankruptcy Review As the economy continues to throttle more and more financially borderline corporations, troubled companies and their advisers are increasingly turning to what is known as the “363 sale” to engineer their way out of bankruptcy and liquidation. [...]
READ MORE10 March, 2010Rehabilitating John Edwards: Mike Sitrick Tells Time Magazine
There’s unpopular, there’s widely loathed, there’s despised, and then there’s John Edwards. Americans are a tolerant people, but they have a line, and evidently, when you cheat on your cancer-stricken wife, lie about it to everyone while running for president, and then [...]
READ MORE23 January, 2010“On the line” — Mike Sitrick profile in Los Angeles Business Journal
Since starting his crisis management firm in 1989,Mike Sitrick has handled media relations for more than 300 bankruptcy cases, including such spectacular meltdowns as Orange County’s and Global Crossing’s. Sitrick also has helped scandal-plagued organizations navigate controversies, including those that hit the [...]
READ MORE19 January, 2010SITRICK HANDLES AFFILIATED’S CHAPTER 11 FILING
Sitrick & Co. is handing the “pre-packaged” Chapter 11 filing of Affiliated Media, the parent company of Dean Singleton’s MediaNews. AM says the reorganizations will have no impact on the daily operations of MediaNews’ collection of 54 dailies, including the Denver Post [...]
READ MORE19 January, 2010SF Business Times: “PR agency Sitrick opens San Francisco office”
By Mark Calvey Sitrick and Co., a Los Angeles-based public relations firm whose client roster ranges from Paris Hilton to Patricia Dunn, opened a San Francisco office. The firm, founded in 1989 by Michael Sitrick, was recently acquired by Resources Connection Inc., [...]
READ MORE15 January, 2010- 14 December, 2009
Seth Faison Discusses Doing Business in China
Buying “Made in China” The “Made in China” label has been rocked by product safety scandals and quality concerns. Who is most affected and how do companies respond when their brand name is on the line? November 30, 2009 – By JASMINE [...]
READ MORE02 December, 2009Resources Connection Completes Acquisition of Sitrick And Company
Resources Connection Completes Acquisition of Sitrick And Company and Brincko Associates, Forms New Corporate Advisory and Restructuring Subsidiary IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Resources Connection, Inc., (Nasdaq: RECN), today announced the completion of the acquisition of the business of Sitrick And [...]
READ MORE25 November, 2009WSJ: “…sharp elbows and extremely tough talk when it is time for some creative corporate crisis management…”
Kara Swisher of the Wall Street Journal’s All Things D blog noted: “The founders of Skype, via the two tech companies they control, Joost and Joltid, have hired Sitrick & Company, headquartered in Los Angeles.” Read the full story. [...]
READ MORE15 November, 2009New York Times: “…the city’s most prominent crisis-management firm…”
“Advising Jamie McCourt is Bert Fields, the entertainment lawyer who has represented, among others, Michael Jackson and the Beatles. Her lead counsel is Dennis Wasser, who has pleaded the divorce cases of Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood and Jennifer Lopez. Also [...]
READ MORE14 November, 2009LA Times Journalist Curtiss Joins Sitrick
From The Holmes Report Aaron Curtiss, formerly director of innovation at the Los Angeles Times, has joined the Los Angeles office of Sitrick And Company, a specialist in corporate, financial, transactional and crisis communications. “Aaron’s knowledge of both traditional and digital media [...]
READ MORE08 April, 2009Sitrick Hires Mercury News Managing Editor
From The Holmes Report Journalist David Satterfield, currently managing editor of the San Jose Mercury News, is joining the Silicon Valley/San Francisco office of Sitrick & Company, a public relations firm specializing in corporate, financial, transactional and crisis communications. Satterfield joins editors [...]
READ MORE23 November, 20082008 Agency Report Card
From The Holmes Report Sitrick & Company is still the go-to firm on the west coast for executives or celebrities whose reputations are in crisis. Clients during 2007 included Patricia Dunn, the former chairman of HP, who was indicted (all charges were [...]
READ MORE02 October, 2008“Call Mike Sitrick” From Los Angeles Magazine
Fled the scene of an accident? At war with Page Six? Taking on the most powerful man in Hollywood? Addicted to painkillers? Accused of molesting children? Call Mike Sitrick. That’s what Halle Berry, Ron Burkle, Roy Disney, Rush Limbaugh, and the Catholic [...]
READ MORE26 June, 2007“Mike Sitrick, Paris Hilton’s New Best Friend” From Gawker
At the end of last week, as the chaos swirled over which network would land the post-jail interview with Paris Hilton, and for how much money, and which network was denying most stridently that it had offered her cash, Hilton’s new “crisis [...]
READ MORE25 June, 2007“Out for Blood? Who You Gonna Call?” From BusinessWeek
Julie Roehm’s legal and public-relations strategy may seem hyperaggressive. Besides suing Wal-Mart for wrongful termination, the former marketing star has accused its top officers of violating the company’s conflict-of-interest rules. Now Roehm has hired Michael Sitrick, whose Los Angeles public-relations firm is [...]
READ MORE25 June, 20072007 Agency Report Card
Sitrick & Company is still the go-to firm on the west coast for executives or celebrities whose reputations are in crisis. Clients in 2006 ranged from Hewlett-Packard chairman Patricia Dunn, who faced charges of identity theft after detectives looking into board leaks [...]
READ MORE26 March, 2007How I Did It: Michael Sitrick Tells Inc. Magazine
When bad things happen to a company–a bankruptcy filing, a CEO’s messy divorce, a proxy fight–Michael Sitrick is the public relations guy who gets the call. His clients, who have included billionaire investor Ron Burkle, Global Crossing (NASDAQ:GLBC) ex-chairman Gary Winnick, and [...]
READ MORE01 January, 2007THE LIST: MICHAEL SITRICK
Los Angeles Magazine, December, 2006 Michael Sitrick, PR Executive Age: 59. Greatest Hits: Rush Limbaugh, Michael Ovitz, Cardinal Roger Mahony. Why him? Sitrick’s Century City firm perfected the field of crisis public relations. He controls reportorial access to troubled actors and warring [...]
READ MORE01 December, 2006THE WEST 100
West – Los Angeles Times, August 13, 2006 Our list of the most powerful people in Southern California Michael Sitrick, Chairman and CEO, Sitrick & Co.: 59, Pacific Palisades L.A.’s king of crisis PR. His firm has handled press for the Archdiocese [...]
READ MORE13 August, 2006CALL MIKE SITRICK
By Steve Oney – Los Angeles Magazine, July, 2006 Fled the scene of an accident? At war with Page Six? Taking on the most powerful man in Hollywood? Addicted to painkillers? Accused of molesting children? Call Mike Sitrick. That’s what Halle Berry, [...]
READ MORE01 July, 20062006 Agency Report Card
It’s hard to imagine anyone who works for Sitrick & Company ever getting bored. Where else are public relations executives likely to find themselves working with Steven Spielberg and Universal Pictures to defuse criticisms of the controversial Munich or Imagine Entertainment and [...]
READ MORE20 March, 20062005 Agency Report Card
Sitrick & Company approaches a public relations challenge in much the same way a lawyer approaches a trial: it does its due diligence, researches the client and the issue, develops a strategy and then presents its case to the target audience the [...]
READ MORE20 March, 20052004 Agency Report Card
Not many firms can boast a client roster so rich and varied that it includes Rush Limbaugh and Eminem, Roy Disney and Marvin Davis, but Sitrick & Company is unique, the number one choice of celebrities in crisis and for high-profile corporate [...]
READ MORE15 March, 2004“Firestopper” From The Daily Deal
American corporations today are in crisis, with many companies facing a fusillade of charges and public faith in business leaders sinking to its lowest levels since the Great Depression. Enter the fine art of “crisis communications,” in which public relations pros tend [...]
READ MORE24 July, 2002FIRE STOPPER
By Cheryl Meyer – The Daily Deal, July 14, 2002 SEC after your hide? For a fat fee, PR guru Michael Sitrick just might be your man American corporations today are in crisis, with many companies facing a fusillade of charged and [...]
READ MORE14 July, 2002“L.A. Archdiocese Enlists Services of Top PR Firm” From Los Angeles Times
After months of headlines about abusive priests, the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles has engaged Sitrick & Co., a prominent and expensive public relations firm specializing in high-profile clients with big troubles. Read the article here. [...]
READ MORE30 May, 2002“Truth Saying in Bankruptcy” From CEO Magazine
Michael Sitrick, founder and chairman of Sitrick & Co., a Los Angeles crisis management firm, has counseled CEOS in more than 150 bankruptcies since 1989, including Purina Mills’ and Burlington Industries’. Read the original story here. [...]
READ MORE01 April, 2002“In a Crisis, It Was a ‘Beautiful’ Job” From Los Angeles Times
This is the first Oscar winner with its own crisis PR manager, the inveterate Sitrick and Co. The firm, whose other clients have included Orange County in the middle of its bankruptcy, Enron wannabe Global Crossing and Paula Poundstone, wasn’t brought on [...]
READ MORE25 March, 2002GUILTY UNTIL FLACKED
GUILTY UNTIL FLACKED By Seth Lubove – Forbes, October 16, 2000 How did media depictions of ex-Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee change so quickly from suspected Chinese spy to sympathetic victim of a bumbling government smear? Hardball Los Angeles flack Michael [...]
READ MORE16 October, 2000“Gotcha!” from Forbes
By preempting 20/20 on the Internet, p.r. man Mike Sitrick didn’t just get better spin for his client. He took the war against the media into a new dimension. Read the original story here. [...]
READ MORE15 November, 1999“Sitrick: the PR godfather with a typewriter” from PR Week
Tough as a trial lawyer, the CEO of Sitrick & Company takes no prisoners when it comes to winning journalists to his clients’ agendas. Click here to read the full story. [...]
READ MORE11 October, 1999“California public relations guru has something to teach reporters” from Rocky Mountain News
If anyone understands the media, it’s author Michael Sitrick, aka the Wizard of Spin, or The Spinmeister. His Los Angeles public relations agency, Sitrick and Co. Inc., helped Orange county, Calif., navigate through its bankruptcy storm. When Food Lion Inc. took ABC [...]
READ MORE06 September, 1998“The spin doctor will see you now” from Las Vegas Sun
You could call Michael Sitrick a master of disaster. But rather than wreaking havoc, the public relations wizard from Los Angeles often works in disaster’s wake to redirect any resulting negative information before — or shortly after — media bloodhounds get their [...]
READ MORE07 June, 1998SPIN DOCTOR
Los Angeles Magazine Crisis controllers (because the press, the paparazzi and the prenuptials can be more damaging than the critics) He’s been dubbed a “$400-an-hour fireman,” an “image rescuer” and a “Green Beret of PR,” but to celebrities with an image crisis, [...]
READ MORE01 March, 1998“Food Lion PR turnaround a textbook case” from Charlotte Business Journal
To make its case against Capital Cities/ABC Inc. in the public’s eye as much as in court, Food Lion Stores Inc. created a communications juggernaut for its six-week trial against the network, even hiring a Los Angeles public relations agency that has [...]
READ MORE31 January, 1997“The Wizard of Spin” From Los Angeles Times
Michael S. Sitrick was more than willing to try to orchestrate this story. After all, it’s what he does. Within hours of hearing that an article about his pricey public relations firm was in the works, Sitrick was on the telephone lining [...]
READ MORE16 July, 1995
