MSU spent $500K in January to monitor social media accounts of Nassar victims, others

EAST LANSING - A public relations firm billed MSU for more than $500,000 for January as it tracked social media activity surrounding the Larry Nassar case, which often included the accounts of victims and their families, journalists, celebrities and politicians.

The work, which also included collecting and evaluating news articles, had previously been done by members of Michigan State University's Office of Communication and Brand Strategy, some of whom continued to do so in January.

The work by Weber Shandwick, a New York-based firm, totaled $517,343 for more than 1,440 hours of work, according to documents obtained through a public records request. The firm billed for work done by 18 different employees, whose hourly rates ranged from $200 to $600 per hour. Five of those employees billed MSU for more than $50,000, including one who billed for $96,900 and another who billed for $120,893.

Weber Shandwick no longer works with the university, an MSU spokeswoman said. She did not provide a reason and referred comment to the firm.

In an email to the State Journal, Kimberly Dixon, Director of global corporate communications for the firm said, "Weber Shandwick was retained by outside counsel to Michigan State University in late December 2017 to provide communications support. Weber Shandwick’s work has since ended.

"As part of Weber Shandwick’s work providing communications counsel, the firm monitored media and social media conversations surrounding the university, which included posts from the survivors of the Larry Nassar case."

Below is a screenshot taken from an email sent Jan. 15 from Weber Shandwick to MSU staff:

As of March 2, the university had been billed for $9.69 million by outside law firms and consulting firms in connection with work on lawsuits or communications strategy related to Nassar's criminal case and related fallout. Nassar, a former university doctor, sexually abused hundreds of women and girls over his 20-year career.

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Nearly all of that sum — $9 million — has been billed by six different law firms, according to records obtained by the State Journal.

However, that total doesn't include any work performed by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom this year. As of early March, the New York-based law firm has billed MSU for $5.4 million, more than any other law firm. It also doesn't include work by Los Angeles-based law firm Latham & Watkins LLC, which is handling insurance matters related to Nassar and has billed the university for $2 million. It has two attorneys billing at least $1,100 an hour.

More than 250 people are suing MSU and USA Gymnastics in federal court, saying Nassar sexually abused them and the organizations didn't do enough to protect them. Those lawsuits will return to mediation, which could lead to a settlement. A previous mediation phase was unsuccessful.

Since the day after the Indianapolis Star first made public sexual assault allegations against Nassar, MSU communications staff have been monitoring and analyzing news stories about Nassar, his criminal cases and USA Gymnastics.

Summaries of articles and social media activity, including how much attention certain tweets or stories were getting online, were emailed to other MSU spokespeople or to top university officials. Later, once Weber Shandwick took over, emails were sent to MSU's outside attorneys for the lawsuits related to Nassar.

Below is a screenshot taken from an email sent Jan. 10 from Weber Shandwick to MSU staff:

Media summaries recapping the previous day's coverage were sent to then MSU President Lou Anna Simon, the members of the Board of Trustees, the university's in-house attorneys and others.

"Conversation around the upcoming sentencing and MSU's role in the matter continues to be driven by victims of Nassar, their families and regional journalists," a Weber Shandwick employee emailed on the morning on Jan. 16, the first day of Nassar's Ingham County sentencing. She then detailed tweets by Jacob Denhollander, the husband of Rachael Denhollander who was the first woman to make public allegations against Nassar, as well as U.S. Olympian Aly Raisman and her mother.

Below is a screenshot taken from an email sent Jan. 16 from Weber Shandwick to MSU staff:

The firm detailed local and national coverage, and how much engagement (retweets and likes) tweets from victims, celebrities or journalists were getting.

It recapped media stories about Simon's attendance at the second day of Nassar's Ingham County sentencing, the speculation around Simon's resignation and her letter doing so hours after Nassar was sentenced after the seventh day of the sentencing hearing.

Related:

Court records: Former MSU dean William Strampel sexually harassed students, had pornography on university computer

How Larry Nassar abused hundreds of gymnasts and eluded justice for decades

Victims' lawsuits against Nassar, MSU and USA Gymnastics to return to mediation

The firm tracked news stories that appeared to drive coverage in January, including those from ESPN, The Detroit News and the Lansing State Journal. Weber Shandwick tracked the number of stories and mentions of Nassar and MSU, occasionally weighing in whether the sentiments against the university were positive or negative.

"While unrelated to the victim impact statements, we have observed conversations that are critical of MSU related to the news that Richard Spencer will speak at the university," a Weber Shandwick employee wrote on the morning of Jan. 19, the fourth day of Nassar's Ingham County sentencing. "Much of the negative conversation ties MSU's actions around Nassar and Spencer together, criticizing MSU for allowing both men on campus."

Below is a screenshot taken from an email sent Jan. 17 from Weber Shandwick to MSU staff:

MSU had previously been sued for denying white nationalist Richard Spencer the chance to speak on campus. The lawsuit was resolved and it was announced as Nassar's sentencing was going on that Spencer would speak on campus.

As the first week of Nassar's sentencing hearing wrapped up, the firm detailed to MSU communications staff some of the new developments that were driving conversation, including victim impact statements by Raisman and fellow Olympic medalist Jordyn Wieber, the news that the Attorney General's Office would open an investigation into the university's handling of the Nassar matter and the MSU trustees "affirmation of support for President Simon, which was largely met by disbelief and anger on social media."

Below is a screenshot taken from an email sent Jan. 12 from Weber Shandwick to MSU staff:

On the morning of Jan. 25, the day after Nassar was sentenced and Simon resigned, a Weber Shandwick employee emailed MSU communications staff to say that social media conversation had increased by 17 times in the past 24 hours, with 381,000 mentions of MSU and Nassar together. There were more than 45,000 tweets mentioning Nassar's sentence as it happened, according to the email.

Nassar, 54, of Holt, is serving a 60-year federal prison sentence for three child pornography convictions. He's also been sentenced to decades in prison for 10 state sexual assault charges.

On Tuesday, William Strampel, Nassar's former boss, was charged with misconduct in office, sexual assault and two counts of willful neglect of duty as part of an Attorney General's Office investigation of sexual misconduct at MSU. The willful neglect of duty charges relate to Strampel's actions during and after a 2014 Title IX investigation of Nassar.

Contact Matt Mencarini at (517) 267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini.