PR Industrial Complex: The List for Portland State University

By JAMES PITKIN

 Our post yesterday detailing WW's survey of PR staffs at public agencies in Portland lacked a complete list for one entity: Portland State University.

PSU today sent the names and salaries for 16 communications staffers at the school (an official there had previously put the number at 14). Based on job descriptions the school provided, we determined six of those staffers fit our definition of a PR rep.

Those six employees make a combined total of $362,790 per year. The highest paid is Chris Broderick, PSU's associate vice president of communications and a former Oregonian editor. He makes $105,000.

Check out the names and salaries of all six of the PSU employees here (PDF).

The additional PSU staffers (the school had previously provided information on only three of them) pushes the grand total of PR reps in our survey up to 87 citywide. And it increases their combined salaries to $6.4 million.

Their average yearly salary is about $75,500.

WWeek 2015

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.