Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Layoffs, budget cuts prompted UC Berkeley to pay out $306,000 for PR contract - SAM STANTON AND DIANA LAMBER, Sacramento Bee

Faced with a $150 million budget deficit at UC Berkeley, university administrators were grappling last year with how to break the news to faculty and the media about the need for major spending and staffing cuts. The solution? University officials bypassed Berkeley’s own communications staff and approved spending $419,400 to hire an outside public relations agency “to address media and stakeholder backlash,” newly released was aimed at helping the university communicate with alumni, faculty, donors, legislators and others about how it was going to address the deficit. http://www.sacbee.com/news/investigations/the-public-eye/article136343853.html