From ME to PR

David Satterfield, managing editor of Singleton-owned San Jose Mercury News, has jumped ship and taken a job with the crisis PR firm Sitrick and Company. No replacement has been named.

Satterfield's departure raises questions about further cuts at the Bay Area paper. Last week, eight newsroom employees were targeted for termination at the Merc's sister papers, collectively known as the Bay Area News Group. Management agreed to a stay at the request of the guild.

Satterfield, 49, told his paper he made the move so he could keep his family in the area and "help grow a business." What does Sitrick do? From the firm's press release:

While best known for its communications work in sensitive situations, Sitrick And Company has extensive and successful practices in the more traditional areas of corporate, financial and transactional communications.

What does "sensitive situations" mean? The San Francisco Business Times helps clarify:

Sitrick specializes in crisis management among other areas. It represented former Hewlett-Packard Chairman Patricia Dunn [aka "The Boss Who Spied on Her Board"] in her fight over boardroom leaks, for example.

Someone has to spin the crazy for us.