Chicago press secretary, earning $164K, makes an elementary PR mistake
A newspaper is calling out Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s communications team after a mix-up involving a photo opportunity. It’s the second time his PR team has faced scrutiny.
The latest example comes from a bill signing by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn. The bill mandates a longer school day, and Emanuel wanted to showcase a student that had been particularly vocal about wanting a longer school day. That student was 7-year-old Parker Rasmussen.
The problem is when it came time to sign the bill, it wasn’t Parker Rasmussen in the presence of the mayor and governor. It was Rei Kong, one of Parker’s classmates.
The head of Emanuel’s press team, Christine Mather, who’s raking in $162,492 a year in the position, “was the one who identified the student as Rasmussen for the Sun-Times and lobbied for a story about the exchange” involving Rasmussen, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The paper explained:
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today
Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.
