Issue Management

Reputation Cleaning, After a Coal Disaster

by Diane Farsetta — May 26, 2009 - 4:54pm

Following a December 2008 massive coal ash spill at the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA's) Kingston coal-fired power station in Roane County, Tennessee, local officials want a three-year, $1.9 million public relations campaign.

Main Source: 
Knoxville News Sentinel (Tennessee), May 23, 2009

BP: We Won't Blow You Up, Just Ruin the Planet

by Diane Farsetta — May 13, 2009 - 2:04pm

First, it was British Petroleum. Then, after a multi-million dollar rebranding as "green," the oil giant renamed itself Beyond Petroleum, or simply BP. Now, BP says its "number one priority" is responsibility. BP spokesperson David Nicholas described the change as "an evolution and expansion of green as a brand value rather than a replacement. ... 'Responsible' encompasses BP's original aspirations towards the environment, in addition to ...

Main Source: 
BBC News, May 11, 2009

Alberta Lobbies for Its Tar Baby

by Diane Farsetta — April 7, 2009 - 12:22pm

The Canadian province of Alberta, which promotes the development of its tar sands oil, "has hired a team of consultants to improve [its] image in Washington ahead of climate-change talks." The lobbyists, who Alberta is paying $40,000 a month, include former Michigan governor James Blanchard and former U.S. ambassador and Canadian diplomat Paul Fraser.

Main Source: 
CBC News (Canada), April 3, 2009

Oil Industry Advisor Comes Out of His Shell

by Diane Farsetta — March 12, 2009 - 1:40pm

The oil company Shell -- which is heavily invested in Alberta's tar sands, an especially dirty and greenhouse gas-intensive source of oil -- has launched a blog about climate change issues. It's "the first time a major oil company has used social media to make a public policy case," reports Siobhan Hughes.

Main Source: 
Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), March 5, 2009

"Countrywide" Goes the Way of "Blackwater"

by Diane Farsetta — February 19, 2009 - 4:45pm

Countrywide Financial, the company infamous for its role in the subprime mortgage crisis, is now called "Bank of America Home Loans." Bank of America, which purchased Countrywide in July 2008, is using the name change "to separate itself from Countrywide's reputation," reports the Wall Street Journal.

Main Source: 
Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), February 18, 2009

Government Agencies Pre-emptively Spin the Bush Years

by Diane Farsetta — October 9, 2008 - 2:57pm

"An e-mail went out last week to government agencies to get working on a project to lay out 'THE BUSH RECORD,'" reports Al Kamen.

Main Source: 
Washington Post, October 8, 2008

"Clean Coal" Boosters Plan to Ridicule Renewable Energy

by Bob Burton — September 26, 2008 - 2:31am

A leaked draft PR plan by the Clean Coal Council, a Queensland state government partnership with the coal industry, stated that a "key outcome" would be to "turn around attitudes that clean coal is an unproven and unsafe technology." While the PR plan noted that "stakeholders" wanted investment directed to "emissions-free renewable energy technologies, not clean coal," the Council has other ideas.

Main Source: 
The Sunday Mail (Queensland, Australia), September 20, 2008
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