Sitrick and Company

Sitrick and Company is a Los Angeles-based public relations firm founded, in 1989, by its chair and CEO, Michael "Mike" Sitrick.[1] The company has established offices in New York City, San Francisco, Denver, and Washington, DC.[2] Since 2009, the company is owned by Resources Global Professionals (RGP), the operating arm of Resources Connection Inc., when it became a subsidiary of the newly formed Sitrick Brincko Group.[3] Retired United States Army Lieutenant General H Steven Blum is among the firm's employees.[4][5]

2009 acquisition

In October 2009, Sitrick and Company, with restructuring firm Brincko Associates, were acquired by Deloitte spin-off Resources Connection Inc., which had 2,700 employees, in a combined cash and stock deal worth $43.3 million. Sitrick and Company then had 45 staff members, who were largely former journalists of the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other media organizations.[6] The two purchased firms had a combined revenue of $24.4 million, in 2008, according to Resources Connection. The purchase combined the two subsidiaries as Sitrick Brincko Group. LLC.[7] Mike Sitrick continued as head of the Sitrick and Company subsidiary after its purchase by Deloitte.[8]

In 2010, two former employees filed suit in federal court regarding Sitrick's buyout of the Employee Share Ownership Plan's holdings in the company during 2008, shortly prior to the Resources Connection deal; the suit alleged that Sitrick paid an unreasonably low price for the ESOP's stake, causing losses to the former employees.[9] Sitrick responded in court documents that an independent trustee, which had its own financial advisor and lawyers, had negotiated the price, and the case settled shortly after, with insurance companies providing settlement funds.[10]

Clientele

Sitrick and Company is known for its handling of famous, or controversial, clients. In 2009, it was estimated to have had 1000 clients.[6][11] Its work earned Sitrick the title of "the king of crisis PR",[12] and its founder, Sitrick, has been widely referenced as a "fixer".[13][14][15]

In 2002, David Duchovny hired the firm to represent him to the media in his dispute with 20th Century Fox, regarding breach of contract relating to his work on The X-Files television show.[16] Sitrick and Company arranged for a feature in Forbes regarding Fox's vertical monopoly, to pressure Fox to settle with Duchovny.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles hired the firm, in 2012, regarding the diocese's sexual abuse scandal.[17]

Sitrick advised Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold in the orchestration of their campaign to remove Michael Eisner as chairman of Walt Disney, in 2003. The campaign led to 43 percent of Disney shareholders withholding their support from Eisner, who later stepped down voluntarily."[18]

In 2006, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and its departing chairwoman Patricia C. Dunn hired the firm to handle media relations regarding HP's 2006 leak-investigation crisis.[19]

Paris Hilton used the company's services after she was released from a brief stay in jail.[6]

Steven Page, of Barenaked Ladies, hired the firm in 2008, following his drug arrest.[20]

Medicis Pharmaceutical CEO Jonah Shacknai hired the firm, following the 2011 death of Rebecca Zahau.[21]

Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein hired the firm following negative press received after rekindling his friendship with Prince Andrew. In 2014, the matter was still before courts, with Sitrick and Company claiming Epstein still had not paid an outstanding $103,500 bill.[22]

In late January 2013, it was revealed that the firm had been hired by Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter, in mid-November of the previous year, to ask journalists and bloggers to delete Obamacare comments he had made claiming that the price of pizza would increase by 11 cents. The firm spent several months doing this, boasting that most journalists complied.[23][24] Sitrick and Company helped compose an op-ed for Schnatter, published in the Huffington Post, as well as rebuttals to subsequent reports of a decrease in Papa John's brand perception.[25]

On June 19, 2014, Sitrick and Company began representing South Korean fugitive Yoo Byung-eun. After a failed attempt from Yoo's public relations company, Ahae Press, to deny a number of the assertions made about Yoo in a June 17 The Diplomat article by John Power, titled "The Cults of South Korea".[26] Power claimed that Sitrick and Company was hired and asked sections of the piece to be removed.[27] Sitrick and Company had also previously distributed a press release by Ahae Press.[28][29]

In October 2017, Sitrick and Company was hired by Harvey Weinstein, following news reports regarding the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations; his subsequent firing by The Weinstein Company; and the resignation of attorney Lisa Bloom. As of April 2018, it was announced, that Sitrick and Company was no longer representing Weinstein, and that his new PR firm was Herald PR, New York.[30][31]

References
  1. "He Fixes the Worst P.R. Crises Imaginable. Then Came Harvey". The New York Times. 2018-06-01. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  2. About, Sitrick and Company, retrieved 2011-09-10
  3. "Resources Connection is buying Sitrick, Brincko". latimes.com. 2009-10-30. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  4. "Retired General Joins Sitrick Brincko", The New York Times, 2010-07-12, retrieved 2011-09-09
  5. sitrick.com: H STEVEN BLUM (retrieved 2 June 2018)
  6. "Breaking News: Resources Buys P.R. Firm Sitrick and Company", Wall Street Journal, 2009-10-29, retrieved 2011-09-09
  7. Wahba, Phil; Daga, Anshuman (2009-10-30), "Consulting firm Resources Connection to buy Sitrick, Brincko", Reuters, retrieved 2011-09-09
  8. "Resources buys P.R. firm Sitrick And Company", Los Angeles Business Journal, 2009-10-30, retrieved 2011-09-09
  9. Hiltzik, Michael (2010-06-02), "Michael Sitrick could use some crisis-management advice", Los Angeles Times, retrieved 2011-09-09
  10. "Crisis PR Guru Michael Sitrick Settles Employee Stock Option Suit". reuters.com. 2011-12-02. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  11. "Michael Sitrick of Sitrick and Company: The Spin Doctor - PR". 21 July 2015.
  12. Christensen, Kim (2006-10-21), "PR Guru's Public Spat Over a Debt", Los Angeles Times, retrieved 2011-09-09
  13. "Hilton's New Expert on Managing Star Crises". NPR.org.
  14. "Meet Michael Sitrick: The 'fixer' you call when your reputation is on the line | Financial Post". October 19, 2013.
  15. "CEOs, Celebrities, and Politicians Turn to One Man When Their Reputations Are on the Line". March 26, 2018.
  16. "L.A. Archdiocese Enlists Services of Top PR Firm". latimes.com. 2002-05-30. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  17. Hall, Carla (2002-05-30), "L.A. Archdiocese Enlists Services of Top PR Firm", Los Angeles Times, retrieved 2011-09-09
  18. Garrahan, Matthew (2010-03-16), "The spin doctor of restructuring", Financial Times, retrieved 2011-09-26
  19. Altus, Celest (2006-09-12), "HP Taps Sitrick & Company as crisis grows", PRWeek, retrieved 2011-09-10
  20. Köhler, Nicholas; Gulli, Cathy (2008-07-23). "Barenaked Mess". MacLean's. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
  21. Edwards, Jim (2011-09-08), "CEO Shacknai Wields Small Army Against Speculation on Death of His Girlfriend", CBS BNET, retrieved 2011-09-09
  22. Mohr, Ian (2014-12-19). "Jeffrey Epstein owes crisis PR firm $103K". Page Six. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  23. Stabley, Will. "Papa Johns targets journalists, asking that ObamaCare coverage be taken down". Archived from the original on January 28, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  24. Gold, Hadas. "Papa John's PR firm targets bloggers". POLITICO. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  25. Bandler, James; Burke, Doris. "The education of Papa John". Fortune. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  26. Power, John (2014-06-17). "The Cults of South Korea". The Diplomat. Retrieved 2014-06-22.
  27. 존파워/John Power [@John_F_Power] (2014-06-19). "LA-based PR firm Sitrick and Company is representing Ahae, aka Yoo Byung-eun. It has asked sections of my piece on Korean cults be removed" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2017-12-29. Retrieved 2014-06-22 – via Twitter.
  28. Hasquenoph, Bernard (2014-04-24). "Ahae, mécène de Versailles, derrière le scandale du naufrage en Corée du Sud". www.louvrepourtous.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2017-12-29. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  29. Ahae Press, Inc. "Korean photographer AHAE and Ahae Press express profound sadness to Sewol ferry victims and condolences to the families of those lost and injured" (Press release). New York: PR Newswire Association. Archived from the original on 2017-12-29. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  30. Wright, Steven (2018-04-07). "Sitrick and Company". The Reputation Management Company. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  31. see also nytimes.com 1 June 2018 / Abby Aguirre: He Fixes the Worst P.R. Crises Imaginable. Then Came Harvey Weinstein.
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