Why a PR ‘Failure’ Was Really a Success

In your July 16 profile of Michael Sitrick [“The Baron of Bad Tidings”], a so-called competing public relations executive is quoted as saying: “The high profile announcement [of Bill Koch’s desire to explore the possibility of purchasing [MGM/UA] was definitely not PR’s finest hour. . . . In a case like that, Koch should have been advised to approach [MGM’s owner] discreetly. The whole thing laid a giant egg.”

In fact, from a public relations perspective, the effort was a success. In order to critique an effort or a program, one must first know--let alone understand--the objectives. As a former business editor of a major daily newspaper and associate editor of Forbes, this is the kind of thinking I used to encounter all the time from PR people. It is the reason that the only firm I would even consider joining was Sitrick, who puts brain in gear before putting mouth in motion.

MICHAEL KOLBENSCHLAG

Managing Director

Sitrick & Co.

Los Angeles