Some call it ‘Spin.’ We call it: Exposing The Truth.

The New York Times positioned Michael Sitrick as a “spin master”, insinuating there was no spin that could fix the Harvey Weinstein mess.

As a PR and communications maven for the last three decades, it’s been my personal goal to take only those cases I truly believe in people and companies, rich or poor, that have no voice, those whose reputations have been lost or in jeopardy because they are not able to publicly share their stories, or their truth.

Wikipedia’s definition of “maven” comes from the Hebrew, via Yiddish, and means “one who understands, based on an accumulation of knowledge.” Grounded in exhaustive research, and only when we are absolutely convinced of someone’s innocence, our team will go to work to present the true story to the court of public opinion, before the case is tried.

Conversely, Sitrick’s crisis management firm, per the Times article today, helps “the rich and powerful deflect damaging headlines.” This is sad, very sad to me because, naively, I still believe that the news we read in the papers or on our smartphones and hear on TV or radio should be the truth based on an accumulation of knowledge without slant.

Sadly, there’s been a clear line drawn in the sand since Trump’s election, filled with allegations of “fake news” and the war between the right and left – between FOX and CNN, as well as other media outlets that have staked out political positions. And, this is deception of the worst kind, driving a wedge between families, friends and co-workers.

The news influences our belief system; it fuels our conversations around the dinner table and in the breakroom.

Let’s all work to ensure that news exposes the truth and doesn’t spin the message in the hopes to fix a mess that no amount of “spin” can fix.