Michael Sitrick of Sitrick and Company: The Spin Doctor
Sitrick and Company are considered by many to be THE firm to hire if you are facing the perfect PR storm. Sitrick has a real gift when it comes to swinging public opinion to a viewpoint favoring his clients – the man is a master of stories. The firm was started in 1989 and immediately became one of the top leading U.S. independent crisis PR firms, as Sitrick was joined by other senior executives to build the firm. They have a roster of over 1,000 clients they have helped over the years, and a lot of them are highly recognizable individuals and corporations.
One of the clients represented by Sitrick and Company is the Estate of Michael Jackson. Years after Jackson’s death, and almost seven years after the release of the film based on Jackson’s rehearsals for his planned concert tour, the estate apparently is still very active. Active enough that it pays significant annual fees to Sitrick and Company. Something interesting about the firm’s representation is that during Jackson’s life, Sitrick is quoted as saying there are only two clients he would not represent, and one of them was Michael Jackson.
In 1998 Sitrick released “SPIN: How to Turn the Power of the Press to your Advantage.” Spin has become a go-to reference resource for crisis management since its release. He also has a new book due to be released next year called Spin Faster. And if anyone knows enough about crisis management to write the books on it, it is Sitrick.
On the company’s website you can find a list of titles given to him in various top magazines. Fortune Magazine calls him “one of the most accomplished practitioners of the dark arts of public relations.” And Forbes Magazine refers to him as “the flack for when you’re under attack.” Sitrick and Company started in Los Angeles, and over the years they have added four more locations.
As mentioned, they have represented over a thousand clients in their 25+ years of operation. The Estate of Michael Jackson is one. But some other well-known clients include Barney’s of New York, The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant, Johnny Depp, Exxon, Chris Hemsworth, Rush Limbaugh, PepsiCo, Universal Studios, Starbucks, and the World Soccer League.
Over the years some of those names have been in the middle of those perfect PR storms, so it’s a good thing they knew who to call.
