Citizens of the shale

By FRITZ MAYER

The Chesapeake Energy Corporation, which bills itself as the largest producer of natural gas in the United States, has produced a half-hour television infomercial about gas exploration in the Marcellus Shale. The program is now playing in the Scranton TV market.

I agreed to be interviewed for the program because I was assured that it would be balanced. I realize there are limits about what can be said on a program that is paid for by a corporation with a huge interest in the topic. But I had hoped the show would probe into some of the more serious issues surrounding natural gas drilling, and at best it skimmed the surface.

First off, I have a bit of a problem with the name of the show, which they’re calling “Citizens of the Shale.” That kind of makes it sound like we all frolic around all day in fields of soft shiny shale that magically give us the power to bring light to the darkness.

The truth is that many citizens have not embraced the shale, and see it as a threat to their sense of well-being, homes and quality of life rather than a force for good.

For instance, when the camera was rolling, I said in response to a question, “In terms of public relations, Vice President Dick Cheney didn’t do the energy companies’ reputations any favors when he exempted them from some of this country’s most important environmental laws, such as the clean water act and the clean air act. When people hear that they ask ‘why, what are they doing, why do they need to be exempt?’” I repeated the line several times to make sure they got a take they liked. That remark did not make the cut, and the program does not address the issue.

Another point I wanted to make was that people who own a house on an acre or two of land are afraid the larger landowners will make a lot of money if drilling comes, but the rest of us will have to live with the consequences. That, too, ended up on the editing-room floor.

At one point during the shoot, the camera crew got footage of the Millennium Pipeline. We were across from a house with a well that was damaged by workers in connection with the laying of the pipeline. I pointed out the house to the producer. It’s true that the situation was not a result of gas drilling per se, but damage done to wells by massive digging projects is certainly related. Any real news person worth his or her salt would have wanted a shot of the house and to hear more details about the story. The producer did not ask the crew to get a shot of the house and was not interested in the story of the compromised well.

Now, I did not expect all the points I cared about to be included in the show. I agreed to be interviewed for the program because I got a harried call from the producer asking me to fill in for another person who dropped out at the last minute. I reasoned that it was better to step up and try to influence the program’s content rather than to simply refuse to be involved and not voice my concerns.

And don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t an unpleasant experience. The producer and the crew were friendly engaging people. And after being on the other side of the camera for many years with a job for CNN, I rather enjoyed the experience.

But the program is really intended to promote the interests of Chesapeake Energy, and that’s basically what it does. I would ask viewers to keep that in mind when a “news” program is produced by a company with a serious interest in the topic at hand, it’s a good idea to view the show with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Dr. Punnybone

There Goes the Neighborhood