Politics

BP "Reporters" Give Flowery Accounts of Disaster

By Anne Landman

Paula Kolmar and Tom Seslar, two "reporters" hired by BP, have been blogging from the Gulf and posting descriptions of cleanup operations on the company's "Gulf of Mexico Response" PR Web site. One update by Kolmar, dated May 28 and titled "Ballet at Sea," describes the laying of oil-absorbent boom amid the unparalleled environmental disaster. Kolmar writes,

"I was on a jack-up boat observing the practice operations several miles out of Bayou La Batre on a day when the ocean was calm, except for the groups of dolphins swimming around us. Even a shark came along to watch the show. Hot, humid conditions intensified by bright sunlight in a cloudless sky were actually made pleasant by the salty sea breezes topped off with lots of sunscreen and bottles of water. Over about four hours we ... enjoyed the spectacular ballet at sea. Mind you, these drills are executed by local shrimping captains on shrimping boats who know these waters and how to catch shrimp! ... Watching the captains weave the long black boom as seamlessly as a professional ballet troupe performs an intricate dance, I found it difficult to believe that the rehearsals only started some weeks ago ... A ballet at sea as mesmerising as any performance in a concert hall, and worthy of an audience in its own right."

Full post as published by PR Watch on June 25, 2010 (boomark / email).