Sarah Palin has quickly gone from unknown to household name since being named John McCain's running mate. However, there was a time just last year when Palin was desperately trying to get more media coverage, rather than avoid the press, as she has done lately.

Writes the Washington Post's Kimberly Kindy:

An outside public relations expert hired under a $31,000 contract with the state Department of Natural Resources pitched the "upstart governor" as a crusader against Big Oil, a story line that Palin has adopted in her campaign as Sen. John McCain's running mate. The contract was the only time the Palin administration hired an outside consultant to set up media interviews, a function performed in many states by government employees.

Just who was the outside PR expert?

The agency signed a contract last year with Marcia Brier, who is based in Needham, Mass. Brier's Web site says she has been a public relations expert for 20 years, working mostly with law and medical firms. Reached by telephone, Brier confirmed that she worked with Palin, "but once she became the vice presidential nominee, I stopped."

Brier's agency, MCB Communications, does not name Palin specifically on their current and former client list, but does list "State of Alaska - International Natural Gas Pipeline Project." MCB sent numerous emails to the Washington Post, pitching interviews with Palin to discuss the Alaskan pipeline project, one of which claimed, "the new governor of Alaska has devised a way to circumvent Big Oil's delaying tactics."

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