Penn State to spend $2.5M on PR firms

Published Apr. 25, 2012 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Penn State University has hired two public relations firms to help it deal with the continuing fallout from the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal.

The university announced Wednesday that it's retained Edelman and La Torre Communications. The firms will be paid about $2.5 million over the next year.

Penn State says the firms will communicate with current and prospective students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents and media as well as ''support the university throughout upcoming litigation.''

Penn State incurred about $7.5 million in expenses through the end of February as it deals with the scandal's aftermath.

Most of that tab, about $5.3 million, was spent on crisis communications and on an internal probe by FBI ex-director Louis Freeh.

Sandusky has pleaded not guilty to sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years.