Matthew Hiltzik

Hiltzik was born on May 12, 1972.[1] He grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey. He attended the Yavneh Academy.[2] He graduated from the Ramaz School.[3] He attended the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and then the Fordham University School of Law.[4]

Hiltzik is a member of the New York State Bar Association.[5] After law school, he worked as press secretary and deputy executive director of the New York State Democratic Committee under Judith Hope, the first woman to head a major political party in New York. While in that role, he worked on the 1998 campaigns of Chuck Schumer and Eliot Spitzer, and Hillary Clinton's Listening Tour in July 1999. In December 1999, Hiltzik joined Miramax as head of corporate communications. He became senior vice president of corporate communications and government relations, and was involved in public relations for Miramax Films, Miramax Books, Miramax TV, Talk magazine, philanthropic and political fundraising and crisis management.[6]

In 2000, Hiltzik took a brief leave from Miramax to re-join Hillary Clinton's senatorial campaign as the director of Jewish relations.[7] Hiltzik worked on outreach in the Reform, Conservative and Orthodox communities for Clinton's campaign, including making inroads with women in the Hasidic community.[8] He met with leaders in New York's Jewish communities, including the Bobovers Hasidic section.[9]

Hiltzik teamed up with the British publicity company Freud Communications to start up their American branch in 2005.[10] He became Katie Couric's publicist and spokesman shortly before her move from NBC to CBS in 2006.[11] She acknowledged his role in her career in her 2021 memoir Going There.[12]

Hiltzik went out on his own in early 2008 to start up Hiltzik Strategies.[13] He maintained his political roots advising Jose Antonio Vargas's DefineAmerican campaign to address immigration policy in the United States and pass the DREAM Act,[14][15] and Thomas DiNapoli in his successful bid for New York State Comptroller. Hiltzik served on New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio's 2014 Inaugural Committee.[16] He also advised Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code, in her primary against Rep. Carolyn Maloney.[17] Hiltzik advised political strategist Lis Smith on crisis management, and encouraged her to write a book about her experiences, which was published as Any Give Tuesday in 2022.[18]

In 2017, Hiltzik was listed on Sports Business Journal's "Power Players" list.[19] In August 2021, Business Insider ranked Hiltzik as one of the top public relations people in crisis management, citing his experience working with high-profile clients like Brad Pitt, Eric Schmidt, Katie Couric and Kelly Ripa.[20]

He handled public relations pro bono for Darnella Frazier, the young woman whose recording of the murder of George Floyd helped to inspire protests against police brutality and played a key role in the conviction of Derek Chauvin.[21]

Hiltzik and his team were engaged by attorneys to support litigation in the Johnny Depp trial, and Hiltzik played a primary role in rehabilitating the actor's image during his successful defamation case against Amber Heard.[22] Hiltzik kept a low profile in the media in the aftermath of the trial, while working to encourage support for Depp and revitalize his career.[23]

Hiltzik is also known for coordinating publicity for the 80th Golden Globe Awards, which saw the ceremony return to live television after a brief hiatus. In 2023, he was included on Crain’s New York Business list of the most notable leaders in public relations and The Observer's "PR Power List".[24][25] He was part of a panel on echo chambers and polarization in media at the Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences on April 19, 2023.[26]

He was executive producer of the documentary films Documented,[27] The Barn,[28] the award-winning Paper Clips[29] and Holy Land Hardball;[30][31] and co-produced the documentary Connected.[32][33] He is also a contributor to the Jewish magazine Tablet.[34]

In 2012 Hiltzik was honored by the New York Board of Rabbis for his work in the Jewish community.[35]

In July 2015, he was the first public relations professional to be named to the board of directors of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, a not-for-profit corporation that promotes economic growth throughout New York City.[36][37]

Hiltzik sits on the Board of the Ghetto Film School.[38] In the summer of 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, Hiltzik suggested that the school's film competition focus on the subject of connection during isolation and lockdown.[39]

Hiltzik lives in New York City with his wife, Dana, and their three children.[34][40]

• Matthew Hiltzik at IMDb