Mike Sitrick is in some ways an LA version of NYC uberflack Howard Rubenstein: as much a power broker as a publicist. But Sitrick's firm is heavily media-focused; he employs a laundry list of high profile ex-reporters, and keeps a tight control on his clients' access to the media. He's the go-to guy for Hollywood stars embroiled in scandals, and does a ton of corporate work as well. He's hated—and even feared—by many working reporters because of his clout. But he's also extremely intelligent about how the media works, and able to wrangle the best possible coverage for clients in seemingly intractable situations. A 2006 story in LA Magazine gave a good rundown of his famous tactics, like this:

One of Sitrick's favorite gambits is "the Lead Steer." He frequently uses it when clients are besieged by negative pack coverage. His thinking is that if he can turn a single respected writer around, he can reverse the trend and maybe even start a stampede in the other direction. "There's an impression among a lot of publicists," says Sitrick, "that you want to deal with lightweight journalists. That's okay on a one-off story, but on a big piece you want a Mike Wallace." When the publicist was representing the actress Kim Basinger during her 1993 bankruptcy case, he says he used Judy Brennan, of the Los Angeles Times, as his lead steer. "She did a sympathetic article, and her piece reversed the way people thought of Kim."

And, more deviously, this tactic to push a story into oblivion:

When journalist Mim Udovitch was assigned by Radar to investigate whether the Kabbalah Center was a cult organization, Sitrick and Company inundated her with material. Indeed, the publicist contends that his staff kept her occupied so long that the firm can take credit for the article's appearance in the relative oblivion of the magazine's online edition instead of in print as originally planned.

So while Sitrick's most visible clients are celebrities, they don't nearly account for the bulk of his revenue. Calling Sitrick & Co. "Paris Hilton's PR firm" is as simplistic as saying "Barney's master invades Iraq." His firm has hundreds of clients, many of them smaller companies that want an experienced flack on hand in case the going gets rough. And that's exactly the role that Sitrick played for Pitcock's law firm: His agency helped to position the firm as the righteous ones, indignantly firing an employee who had gone astray (rather than letting them appear complicit in a harassment ordeal).

Was it worth it? In light of the $90 million suit, perhaps not. But if the aggrieved Pitcock walks away with nothing, it will only bolster Sitrick's own reputation for wizardry (not that he needs it). The lesson: Never be surprised to see Sitrick's name pop up anywhere. He is the scary unseen ninja of PR.

[NYT via NY Mag. Pic via Deadline Hollywood]

He "says he walked into jail with pills and cash because he was not searched and didn't know better," and he also "argues this is all payback for defying the power structure in Bay County with his First Amendment lawsuit." Ok, totally convinced!

Maybe Joe will use some of his downtime to hone his new website, which includes the most unconvincing open letter of all time. There's more crazy in it than can be easily explained, but here's how it concludes. "It might be a stretch to say that I'm just your average Joe, but as you explore this site, I think you'll come to find that my desires, dreams and disappointments aren't terribly different from your own."

Copperfield and Sitrick's latest press release is in response to last weekend's Seattle Times exclusive that gave some of the seamier details of the grand jury investigation. Copperfield reportedly said he'd help a Seattle woman with her modeling career (oh, aspiring models of the world, please demonstrate better judgment) and "invited her to his isolated $50 million private retreat at Musha Cay, in a tiny string of white-sand islands 85 miles southeast of Nassau, Bahamas."

When she showed up, there weren't any other guests there! And Copperfield allegedly "raped and struck her" during her stay, then threatened her if she went to the authorities.

Not so. say Sitrick and Copperfield! They claim the entire story is false, and as supporting evidence they claim that, contrary to prior reports, the FBI did not seize $2 million from Copperfield's Magic Museum or whatever the hell his presumably wacky Vegas house is called. And FURTHERMORE: Copperfield's attorney "said that Mr. Copperfield is among those rare celebrities
with a blemishless past."

Yeah! He's not like those other rapey celebrity magicians. Like David Blaine or Teller.

David Copperfield's Attorney Says Allegations in Saturday Seattle Times Are False [Newswire]
Grand jury investigates Copperfield allegations [Seattle Times]

Mantra Films, Inc. Announces Florida State Attorney Steve Meadows Charged with Prosecutorial Misconduct in Court Filing Today [PR Inside]

(Why? Should? Believe?) The website already has excerpts from what People reminds us a gajillion times were an "EXCLUSIVE" interview and photo shoot, including: "I'm a good person. I'm a compassionate person. I have a big heart. I'm sincere." Everything was done Tuesday, hours after her release, at her grandfather's mansion in Bel Air.

Of course, a year ago, People never would have deigned to put Paris on the cover of the magazine. Too trashy! She was Us Weekly's darling, after all. But now Paris has been redeemed. People, after all, is the classy celebrity magazine! How long before we get shots of her emerging from church with her parents?

Paris Hilton: People's Exclusive Interview [People]

The hiring of Sitrick proved that the Hiltons are taking this latest crisis involving Paris very seriously indeed. It's a problem that clearly could not be managed by Paris's longtime spokesman, Elliot Mintz, who is "more of a PR footman," snipes one entertainment journalist. (He was also not long ago off the job for a while, if the tabloids can be believed.) "It's not like Mintz really has a strategy or anything." Others expressed surprise that Sitrick was taking on Hilton as a client: "He usually works with people like Ron Burkle, not Paris Hilton," said one magazine journalist.

So just who is Mike Sitrick, whose fees are reportedly up to $700 per hour? And why did the Hiltons turn to him? Well, he's a PR pit bull, and even Howard Rubinstein gives him respect—though he seems to regard him warily. He's a master of spin (he wrote a well-regarded PR book in 1998, Spin: How to Turn the Power of the Press to Your Advantage). And he's known as someone who will stop at nothing to turn public opinion in his clients' favor.

Sitrick's Los Angeles-based "strategic communications" firm Sitrick & Company are known in the business and entertainment communities as the place to turn in the face of a potentially huge public relations disaster. Billionaire businessman Burkle is indeed a longtime client of his—Sitrick orchestrated the sting of Jared Paul Stern last year, then defended Burkle in the press when the whole thing threatened to blow up in his face—but his client list is staggeringly wide-ranging. He currently represents fired Wal-Mart marketer Julie Roehm. Atoosa Rubenstein hired him in October 2006 when items about departing staffers at Seventeen started appearing in Page Six. He represented Naomi Campbell when she was accused of assaulting her former housekeeper. He was retained by the law firm that represented the Archdiocese of Los Angeles when it was embroiled in the pedophile priest scandal. He helped Halle Berry when she was accused of a hit-and-run, and he was retained by Rush Limbaugh during his prescription pill addiction scandal. He's also represented people whose interests seem to be at odds; Ron Burkle sued former Disney chief Michael Ovitz over Internet ventures they were both involved in, but Sitrick reps both of them (and managed to get sympathetic coverage for both of them in the heat of the Anthony Pellicano scandal). Another longtime client of Sitrick's is Roy Disney, who, of course, has been at odds with Ovitz for several years.

His methods are aggressive and strategic. He uses what he calls "truth squads" to monitor the media (including blogs) to ferret out inaccuracies about his clients and "wheel-of-pain" tactics against his client's foes—a campaign of negative publicity intended to spur a quick settlement. Of course, to be effective, Sitrick employs a veritable public relations army. He's known for luring well-connected former journalists (presumably for a massive raise). Two of his more high-profile hires in the last couple years were Wall Street Journal reporter John Lippman, who wrote a weekly Hollywood column and had covered the TV business for the paper, and Los Angeles Times senior editor Mark Saylor. He's also fond of hiring corporate executives and lawyers.

So it's perhaps no surprise that the Hiltons hired Sitrick—Paris could certainly use some PR help. But the mere act of hiring Sitrick sends a strong signal that the Hiltons are spooked by the way Paris's sentencing and jail term were woefully mismanaged from a PR standpoint. The family lost control of the story in a major way, and the only way to start to try to fix it is with a big gun. Already it seems to be working—Hilton will go on Larry King Wednesday night after her release, and, so they say, won't be paid for her appearance—which seems to have given her just the tiniest bit of legitimacy back.

[Image via]