Research/Study
National TV news coverage of the California oil spill exposes the hidden costs of relying on fossil fuels
Though it’s received widespread coverage, this disaster is just one of many stories of dirty energy companies harming communities and habitats across the country
Published
The recent offshore oil pipeline breach in California, which has dumped as much as 144,000 gallons of crude into the waters off the state’s southern coast, has been widely reported on by national TV news. Between October 3-6, programs across corporate broadcast and cable TV news aired 147 segments on the oil spill.
But while the coverage has shone a light on the very real environmental, health, and economic harms to communities that live near fossil fuel infrastructure, it has also exposed a disparity in media between which communities' stories are told and which bad actors are held to account.
As CNN chief climate correspondent Bill Weir pointed out: “We need to widen out the big picture. These sorts of leaks happen all the time all over the world. The reason this one is so newsworthy is where it is happening, on some of the most popular beaches in southern California, in the wealthy communities of Orange County.”
This oil spill is not an isolated event and not even representative of the damage and risk borne by mostly marginalized communities and communities of color all across the country that are either living with or fighting the advancement of fossil fuel infrastructure.
Early reporting of the oil spill covered its immediate impacts -- toxic fumes, dead fish and wildlife, closed beaches and canceled events. And as the disaster unfolded, coverage was dominated by reports that the company responsible for the leak, Amplify Energy Co., has a long history of safety violations and financial instability and reportedly failed to alert authorities of the breach for at least 12 hours from when it was first detected.
As this story continues to unfold, TV news should do more “big picture” reporting tying it to other fossil fuel stories playing out all over the country, to propel a national discussion on the cost of our dependency on fossil fuels -- and the dangers inherent in our aging, dirty energy infrastructure.