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In his column in tomorrow's L.A. Times, Michael Hiltzik examines what's really at issue in the lawsuit against crisis PR executive Mike Sitrick by two former colleagues. He digs into the nuances of the Sitrick company employe stock ownership plan, and says this is a real PR problem for Sitrick — who stands accused of screwing his employees. Hiltzik also includes a necessary disclaimer:
Given Michael Sitrick's renown as a prince of PR, it's unsurprising that the big question being asked about him just now isn't whether it's true that he ripped off his employees for roughly $8 million, as two ex-workers are alleging in federal court.It's how could he ever have let this thing get to the stage of a public, and very embarrassing, lawsuit?...
Before I go further, a disclosure: Like other Southland journalists, I've known Mike Sitrick for years. He has hired lots of former journalists, including friends of mine. I've visited his beach house on a social occasion. Sometimes his interests as a PR man and mine as a writer coincide, in which case he can be a big help; sometimes they clash, and he's a pain. But presumably that's what he's hired to do.Over the years his roster of scandal-ridden clients has included the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (priest sex scandal), former Hewlett-Packard Chairwoman Patricia Dunn (corporate spying scandal), the Getty (mismanagement scandal) and Paris Hilton (oh, nobody cares anymore).
Previously on LA Observed:
Sitrick sued by employees
Sitrick's old buddy joins lawsuit