PR & Media

[Moonlight]

Having given some thought to recent events in the media and the role of the media in relation to Michael's life, death and investigations, I have some findings & subsequent questions about the role of PR & the media for the Michael Jackson Estate, & The Jackson Family:


PR for the Estate of Michael Jackson

PR Industry News:

In the News

O'Dwyer's Public Relations News 6/3/2009: SITRICK, SUNSHINE WORKING JACKSON DEATH Sitrick and Company has been hired as communications counsel to handle all media inquires for the estate of Michael Jackson.
source: http://www.sitrick.com/news.html

Official Release:

July 1, 2009
SITRICK, SUNSHINE WORKING JACKSON DEATH

Sitrick and Company has been hired as communications counsel to handle all media inquires for the estate of Michael Jackson.
The PR firm identified today the two executors of Michael Jackson’s will, which was filed today in Los Angeles County superior court.
John Branca, Jackson’s attorney from 1980-06, and John McClain, a music industry executive and longtime friend of the Jackson family, were named in Jackson’s will, which was dated July 7, 2002.
The document declared Jackson’s mother, Katherine, the guardian for his three children and left all of his assets to the Michael Jackson Family Trust, which was not described in the court filing.
A third executor of the will, Barry Siegel, resigned from that role in 2003.


The Jackson family has hired Sunshine, Sachs & Associates to handle PR. The firm helped the family shoot down a rumor that there would be a public viewing of Jackson's body at his Neverland Ranch in California.

Michael Sitrick, Jim Bates and Terry Fahn are handling the account at Sitrick.

Sitrick said in an L.A. Magazine profile in 2006 that Jackson and O.J. Simpson were the only two clients he ever turned down

source: http://www.sitrick.com/pdfs/odwyerpr07012009.pdf

? The date of the PR industry news, before the date of death, how can that be?


? Who exactly is being represented?
~ I have assumed that the 'Estate of Michael Jackson' = 'The Jackson Family Trust' = Michael Jackson's wishes according to his will and trust guidelines.

(Putting aside any Will disputes at the moment) If that is so,

? Why would a company/man who had no desire to do PR work for Michael Jackson in life, choose to do so in death?
source: http://www.sitrick.com/pdfs/LAMagazineJuly2006.pdf


? Sitrick & Company have many clients amongst which is Sony Corp, is that of benefit to the Estate of Michael Jackson, or is it a conflict of interests? Both?

Does it depend upon an individual's perspective of Michael's relationship with Sony?

Or, whether you view Michael Jackson as the person, or the business?


Related articles:

PR Newswire
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mi...nment-and-sony-music-entertainment-2009-08-10

LA Times blog
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the...eonardo-dicaprios-spokesman-ken-sunshine.html

The Jackson family & The Michael Jackson estate, are two separate entities with two distinct PR companies, yet the industry PR announcement comes out as one single article at the same time, do they work together co-operatively? Or is one of those companies, or a different company orchestrating these things?

 

[Rockin.]

I think the first date is just a mistake. Anyway, thank you for posting details about the PR company.. now I know who to try and contact if we want to inform them of anything.

 

[TinaG]

That first date is obviously a mistake. The document that is linked to that announcement is dated July 1. And if you look at the document that was linked immediately before it, that date is also 6/3/2009, which is also the date inside that document. Clearly, someone just typed the wrong date on other document.