As the saying goes, oil and water don’t mix. And they certainly aren’t mixing very well in the Gulf of the Mexico where the oil and gas industry is undergoing a public relations disaster.
As revelations continue to mount about a fast-and-loose attitude towards regulations and environmental laws -- new details came out in The New York Times this morning -- one wonders how oil and gas companies will recover. It didn’t help to hear the head of BP repeating over and over in testimony to Congress that the company would pay for all “legitimate” claims.
This is where you see the fault lines between legal advice and public relations advice. Repeating a buzz word such as “legitimate” ad nauseum is an obvious talking point or legalese developed after much consultation.
This tactic proved to be a disaster when Chris Matthews replayed it in all its variations on Hardball last night. And the public can see through it as a ploy used by an extremely untalented representative of BP.
What’s needed instead is a mea culpa with an overly generous attitude toward those affected by the disaster. With prompt, solicitous care, BP can undo many of the adverse reactions it is experiencing. And in the long run, this can prove more profitable to them. They should look at it as an investment of the billions of dollars in profits they are still racking up.
