Did the president of Southeastern Louisiana University just get punked?
Dr. William Wainwright, who has been SLU’s top man not quite three years, is the subject of a glowing, 1300-word COVER STORY in CEO MAGAZINE—complete with the image of his smiling face beaming out from the cover of the JANUARY ISSUE of the magazine.
But was it such a big deal really? We’ll get to that question in a bit but first, there’s another little issue that needs addressing: Just who wrote the article?
Look again at the press release found in our first link above. Besides carrying the date Jan. 7, 2026, it informs us that the story was produced by Neal Gregory, the cover photo was by Randy Bergeron (good Louisiana name, that), other photos (described as “images”) by Anthony Lamothe Photography and words by Chrissie McClatchie.
Hold it right there. Now, just who is this Chrissie McClatchie? That appears to be the question of the day here.
We have a Chrissie McClatchie who describes herself as a “writer and journalist” whose recent work highlighted “Louisiana’s Cajun/Creole culture and luxury trends for publications like The Ceo Magazine and Robb Report…” She includes in her qualifications as a writer the fact that she one was “involved” with the Miss Louisiana USA pageant “as a contestant representing her hometown,” though she neglects to identify that hometown. (Well, I once got a base hit and actually drove in a winning run, so I suppose that qualifies me to play left field for the Red Sox.)
Her bio even includes a thumbnail photo of an attractive blonde young lady:
Now I’ve never been a contestant in a beauty contest but I did once get roped into helping judge a high school beauty contest in which the winner of the talent division bounced a beach ball to Limbo Rock—and she was really the best talent, though she did bounce the ball off her foot into the audience at one point during the song (did I mention it was a very small high school?)
But wait a cotton-pickin’ minute.
There seems to be another Chrissie McClatchie, a French-Australian.
Funny thing, she also claims to be a journalist. Moreover, she presents herself as a writer for CEO Magazine.
What a coincidence! Same name, same spelling, same occupation and same publication. What are the odds?
Chrissie McClatchie’s Post:
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Travel | Wine | Yachting
Chrissie McClatchie is a French-Australian freelance travel and yachting writer who grew up on Sydney’s northern beaches and has called the Côte d’Azur home for over a decade.
She’s at her happiest reporting on hidden or unusual angles: whether that’s Provence’s chickpea renaissance, the Michelin-starred chef on a quest to curate the world’s largest South African cookbook collection, or the sommeliers bringing wines from the depths of the ocean to the restaurant table.
Deciphering which is the Chrissie McClatchie who wrote the story on the president of the Hammond school, it’s probably more significant to understand how these type stories work and what they can cost, making it questionable if the perceived exposure is worth the investment.
We say “perceived” exposure because the subject of the story—in this case, Dr. Wainwright—is probably told that the story will be exposed to X-thousand (CEOs for business types, educators, alumni and influential politicians for folks like college presidents). What they’re not told is that the magazine will be handed out in bulk at hotel conventions, conferences and such, stacked on registration desks where many of them will die or be tossed by indifferent attendees. But hey, they were “exposed” to the publication, right?
Another tactic is to discreetly inquire of the story’s subject (during the interview process, of course) of the names and contact information for vendors, partners, fellow businessmen or prominent politicians who will subsequently solicitated to place an ad in the magazine congratulating good-ol’-Joe Blow for reaching the pinnacle of his profession by making the cover of the prestigious magazine.
Depending on the length of the story (in this case, the aforementioned 1300 words) and the number of suckers individuals who purchase ads, the cost of gracing the cover and the accompanying feature story can run anywhere from $8000 to $50,000.
Here are a few comments picked up online about the magazine and its tactics:
So now, the two burning questions lingering out there are (1) did SLU or any of its affiliates (like the school foundation) pony up any money for this story, or (2) did the magazine solicitate names of any prominent alumni (like Robin Roberts, for instance) to buy an ad in the issue featuring Dr. Wainwright?
Louisiana Voice 
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