Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Acting as though it has martial-law authority, BP has hired private security to guard beaches contaminated by the oil spill—and in the process prevented journalists from interviewing clean-up crews.
For two days in a row, news anchor Scott Walker of WDSU-TV, NBC’s New Orleans affiliate, attempted to talk to workers on Grand Isle, Louisiana, beaches and was denied access by employees of “Talon Security.” Sheriff’s deputies eventually intervened in the confrontation, but Walker still did not get his interviews because Talon Security guards informed clean-up crews they didn’t have to speak with the television journalist. The workers declined to comment. Although it is unclear who Talon Security is, Talon Executive Services is a well-known corporate security provider.
Meanwhile, BP issued a statement clarifying its media access policy. “Recent media reports have suggested that individuals involved in the cleanup operation have been prohibited from speaking to the media, and this is simply untrue. BP fully supports and defends all individuals rights to share their personal thoughts and experiences with journalists if they so choose,” the memo reads. “BP has not and will not prevent anyone working in the cleanup operation from sharing his or her own experiences or opinions.”
Journalists have also had problems gaining access from the Coast Guard. When Bigad Shaban of CBS’s New Orleans affiliate, WWL, accompanied Sen. David Vitter (R-Louisiana) on a tour of areas affected by the oil spill, Coast Guard officials at the Fort Jackson Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Buras refused to allow Shaban and his cameraman entry because their presence might “hurt” wildlife. The center is being used to inspect and clean oil-damaged wildlife.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Security Blocking Media Access at Cleanup Site (WDSU-New Orleans)
Reporters Clash with Coast Guard, BP Security (by Brett Michael Dykes, Yahoo News)
BP Hires Mercs to Block Oily Beaches (by Adam Rawnsley, Wired)
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