Subscriber Special - Breaking news: $4.3 Billion in Feds 'PR' Spending Money35

December 8, 2015 02:00 PM
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Money35
 
"Federal agencies don't have a right to spend $4.34 billion 
of taxpayer money on self-promotion campaigns."
 
 
    
OPEN THE BOOKS OVERSIGHT REPORT 
THE DEPARTMENT OF SELF-PROMOTION - PR 
  
BREAKING NEWS: THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Federal Agencies Spend Billions on Self-Promotion
By Kellan Howell | December 8, 2015
 
TRENDING NEWS: THEHILL, Washington, D.C.
Feds Shelling Out Billions to Public Relations Firms
By Megan Wilson | December 8, 2015
 
Today, we released our comprehensive oversight report on federal agency public relations (PR) spending since 2007: OpenTheBooks Oversight Report - The Department of Self-Promotion, How Federal Agency PR Spending Advances Their Interests Rather Than the Public Interest.
 
HERE ARE THE TOP 10 TAKEAWAYS:
 
1. The federal government spent $4.34 billion on public relations in the last seven years.  
 
2. U.S. Government ranked 2nd largest Public Relations Firm in the World (based on the number of PR employees). 
 
3. 3,092 federal 'Public Affairs Officers' are employed by over 200 federal agencies in FY2014. 
 
4. 1,858 'Public Affairs Officers' made at least $100,000 in base salary compensation in FY2014. 
 
5. Salaries totaling $2.337 billion and 'performance bonuses' totaling $10.929 million flowed to public affairs officers (FY2007-FY2014). The highest bonus was $35,940 to John T. Burklow at Department of Health and Human Services in 2012. 
 
6. Since 2007, PR positions increased in the federal government by 15 percent - an addition of 402 positions - from 2,688 to 3,092. Total PR salary spending by year increased by 22.4 percent despite a long period of freeze and sequester in federal hiring. 
 
7. $2.02 billion spent by 139 federal agencies with 2,403 outside PR vendors on 16,249 individual transactions since 2007 - despite 3,092 federal PR employees. 
 
8. 47 percent increase in outside PR consulting expenditures under the Obama administration vs. the last two years under the Bush administration. 
 
9. Top PR firms in the world reaped millions of dollars: Laughlin, Marinaccio & Owens, Inc. ($87.98M), Young & Rubicam Inc. ($57.5M), Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide Inc. ($47.93M), Fleishman-Hillard, Inc ($42.4M), Gallup ($42.0M), and many more. 
 
10. $183,581 (per year) billing by Ketchum ($88/hour, $15,298/month) for 'Intern.' $1.192 million (per year) billing by Booz Allen Hamilton ($525.67/hour, $91,107/month) for 'Executive Manager' - examples of billing rates per their respective federal advertising contracts.
 
 
(Stay tuned, we have more cool stuff coming soon.)
JOIN THE TRANSPARENCY REVOLUTION.  IT'S YOUR MONEY!
Adam
        
Adam Andrzejewski (say: Angie-f-ski)
Founder, OpenTheBooks.com 
 
Matthew Tyrmand
Deputy Director
 
PS. Our new video describes how our data and technology can help you stop government waste!  Watch it here.
 
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2015-11-04_14-17-38
 
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