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Sallie Hofmeister is the latest former entertainment editor and reporter at the Los Angeles Times to try her hand at crisis PR with Sitrick And Company. She was at the LAT for 17 years, first as a business reporter covering media and Hollywood. She later became editor of the Business section, then the assistant managing editor overseeing coverage of arts and entertainment. Hofmeister left the paper last year. The announcement today from Michael Sitrick says that Hofmeister "joins a roster of reporters and editors from such publications as The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Bloomberg News, NBC and CBS Television." Flackage:
“I speak for everyone at the firm when I say we are very thrilled to have Sallie join our team,” said Mike Sitrick, the firm’s founder, Chairman and CEO. “It takes a certain combination of judgment and skill to succeed in this business and I am confident Sallie has both. Her vast knowledge of business -- in the media, financial, and technology sector, as well as in the entertainment industry -- and her experience in digital and social media will greatly benefit both existing and new clients.”Ms. Hofmeister added, “Like many of my new partners who came from journalism, I didn’t think I would ever join a PR firm, but Sitrick is not exactly a traditional or ordinary public relations firm. Anyone who has spent any time in a newsroom knows they are in a league by themselves. I am very excited to join the firm and look forward to helping our clients achieve their goals.”
Among the former LA Times show business coverage overseers to jump to Sitrick were the late Mark Saylor and Jim Bates, who is still there. Hofmeister was a business reporter at the New York Times before she joined the LAT. Nikki Finke's take at Deadline, which posted the news first this morning:
If you’re going to do PR, Sitrick’s self-processed strategic and crisis flackery though certainly controversial is more interesting than most. And while I’ve written harshly about Sallie in the past, we’ve become better acquainted over recent months, and I wish her well in her new gig. (Hey, she gave me this announcement first…)
