So sorry for all you and your wife are going through.
I hate it when certain 'superiors' feel they can bully people just because they weren't directly involved in some decision-making/approval process and thus feel they have the right to abuse (albeit verbal but still...) employees reporting to them. That reporting channel was wrong anyway - your wife should be reporting directly to the person/people who created that post/approved bringing her in and decision-makers in that situation. I say that being in a similar situation before; I was appointed by the principal in the company but in my case, was fortunate enough to be allowed to report directly to the person who brought me in, ie. the ceo himself. No way else would I have been allowed/able to carry out my duties specific to the reason I was brought in, in the first place, if I had to report to a 'superior'!

Your post brings so much of my working life back to me. (I am semi-retired now/free-lancing, working on projects as and when I want to) The entire situation reeks of why I left the public relations industry as I felt news-worthiness was playing a smaller and smaller part getting the news out there, as compared to whether that piece of news was commercially viable or not (if paid advertising accompanied it!)

My apologies if this kinda was a rant of my own... Turned out longer than I wanted it to! ;) Wanted to say, "stand firm" to your wife, and end of it all - it's just a job; if they can't appreciate her, it's their loss!