Submitted by Bob Burton on
The PR company Ketchum boasts on its website that its issues and crisis management expertise "helps clients plan rational strategies to deal with difficult situations early -- before an issue or crisis erupts." In written responses to questions from PR Week about the firm's role in the Armstrong Williams controversy, Ketchum CEO Ray Kotcher said they didn't publicly comment for a week because, while "it was tempting to clarify the dialogue," the firm "needed to establish the facts." The facts, as reported by USA Today and confirmed by Kotcher, are that Williams was paid $240,000 by Ketchum, as a subcontractor on a Department of Education contract to promote the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. The contract included a stipulation, Kotcher confirmed, "that Williams would talk about NCLB on his show."
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