Chesapeake Energy's Shale TV with Tracy Rowlett

I love admitting it when I'm wrong. So, I'll admit it. I was wrong about Chesapeake Energy. Last week I wrote that it appeared Chesapeake Energy was backing off on their multi-media propaganda onslaught. It seemed the TV ads and billboards with Tommy Lee Jones had gone away. The full page ads in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram had not appeared for over a week. I'd not seen a Fort Worth bus plastered with Chesapeake slogans. I'd not seen a Chesapeake/Barnett Shale billboard in weeks.

And then yesterday I saw 2 buses plastered with Chesapeake Energy propaganda. I thought, I guess they've not totally scaled back.

And then, this morning, I learned not only has Chesapeake not scaled back on their propaganda onslaught, they're amping it up by launching an online Shale TV Video channel to help their ongoing attempts to counter all the objections from urban citizens to having their yards dug up, trees knocked down, parks compromised and peace, quiet and clean air messed around with.

For Slate TV, Chesapeake Energy somehow lured the D/FW Metroplex's longest running news guy, Tracy Rowlett, away from CBS Channel 11. I imagine quite a sum of money was involved to get this guy to agree to be a shill for Chesapeake.

Of course, Chesapeake is claiming they will have those who object to their drilling practices on their show. It will be interesting to see if Don Young gets an invite.

Regarding Chesapeake's attempts to counter the online battering they are taking from various blogs and websites. I have a suggestion. Since you are willing to pay so much money to counter your bad public image, have you considered simply making an offer to people like me to get us to shut up?

I certainly would consider such an offer. I am no less willing than Tommy Lee Jones or Tracy Rowlett to sell out if the money is right. I eagerly await Chesapeake's Energy's offer.

In the meantime, yesterday, for some likely un-Godly reason, my next door Chesapeake drilling tower reappeared. I had no idea they came back after the drilling was done? Why? I'll take a photo of this this morning and share it with you later in the morning.

An amusing sidenote, everytime I blog about Chesapeake Energy and the Barnett Shale, I see a huge number of readers pop up from Oklahoma City, headquarters of Chesapeake Energy. I think I can extrapolate from that that Chesapeake Energy, for some reason, really really closely monitors what is being said about them. Such a sensitive company. Except when it comes to disturbing people's sleep, messing up their property, polluting their water and just being an all around nuisance.

Barnett Shale Chesapeake Energy Overdose

I think I've mentioned before that I've never before been witness to a propaganda campaign of the scope underway here in North Texas, brought to us courtesy of the good folks at Chesapeake Energy.

It seems a day does not go by without me seeing Tommy Lee Jones' age worn craggy face shilling for Chesapeake Energy and Barnett Shale on my TV. And on billboards. And in the newspaper.

In this morning's Sunday Fort Worth Star-Telegram we were treated to yet one more full page Tommy Lee Jones Chesapeake Energy ad. This ad has Tommy saying "Texans can live with industry. We always have."

Huh?

Tommy goes on to say, "We've been living with the Fort Worth Stockyards for a long time. If we weren't able to live with the stockyards there wouldn't be a Fort Worth."

Huh, again?

The rest of the ad is not Tommy's words, just basic Chesapeake Energy propaganda. Like, "Short-term costs include some increase in traffic, noise and water use." And, "because prosperity tends to spread throughout a community...the Barnett Shale will put money into every level of our society."

The ad forgot to mention some of the other short-term costs, like dust clouds that clog air filters, bright lights, trees removed, yards dug up for pipelines, that sort of stuff.

I can sure see one way Chesapeake is giving back to the community. All the propaganda must cost a lot. In addition to the full page ads, Chesapeake has plastered its message on park benches, buses, billboards, TV, radio and I recently learned Chesapeake published a thick magazine called The Barnett Shale, The Official Magazine of Thriving on the Shale, 72 pages on thick stock paper, 30 articles telling you everything you need to know about the wonders that Chesapeake is bringing to North Texas.

What I don't get is if drilling for gas in an urban zone, laying pipelines through people's yards, cutting down people's trees, covering cars with dust, making a lot of noise, keeping people awake at night, drying up water supplies, while polluting other water supplies and occasionally blowing up is so good for us, why do we need to be subjected to all this propaganda? Wouldn't we just intuitively know that the Barnett Shale is just about the best thing that ever happened.

Tommy Lee Jones and the Barnett Shale

Several energy companies, including one called Chesapeake, have been drilling holes in north Texas for several years now, tapping into this thing called Barnett Shale and using a controversial water process to fracture the shale and release natural gas.

As the drilling advanced right into the heart of the Dallas/Fort Worth urban zone there began to be an ever louder level of protest, particularly when places like Tandy Hills Park were threatened.

The threat to Tandy Hills led to the forming of a group known as the Eastside Rabblerousers. The group grew ever larger and ever louder. They began to help people all over D/FW fight back against the gas drillers. The main leader of the Eastside Rabblerousers, Don Young, along with others, started a well done website to help them wise people up to the drilling issue.

The Eastside Rabblerouser's success led to what is happening now. It's one of the strangest things I've seen. The energy companies, mostly Chesapeake Energy, for several months now, have been running a massive Orwellian, Sovietesque, Goebbels Worthy Propaganda Campaign.

Many of Fort Worth's public transit buses have been totally covered with signs saying things like "Thanks Barnett Shale for our Strong Economy." This when the city of Fort Worth has had to make massive layoffs of city employees due to a huge budget shortfall.

Dozens upon dozens of Chesapeake billboards litter the landscape almost on the scale of their drilling rigs. At some points on the freeway there are more than one Chesapeake billboard in a row hammering home the propaganda. The billboards repeat the messages on the buses, things like "Friends of Barnett Shale" and "Barnett Shale Helps Our Schools."

The propaganda slogans are repeated in full page ads in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, almost daily.

And then a couple weeks ago, new Chesapeake billboards appeared with actor Tommy Lee Jones being a shill, like you can see above with him saying, "Let's get behind the Barnett."

So, our lead Eastside Rabblerouser decided that maybe Tommy Lee Jones needed to be wised up as to what it is he is shilling for. This led to a letter writing campaign, with the letters sent to Tommy Lees Jones' residence in Texas.

Don Young sent me a copy of his letter to Tommy Lee Jones. It is a very good letter. I'll paste the last 4 paragraphs and you can go here to read the entire enlightening letter.

I’ll end this letter by telling you about the latest news from Chesapeake: I recently learned that they are proposing an 18" gas pipeline that will run through the front yards of four blocks of a residential street near my home. This is a quiet, well-established neighborhood.

Thanks to Chesapeake, nearly every tree on that side of the street will be cut down and new trees can never be planted over the pipeline. Some of those trees are over 100 years old. Most of those homes have kids and old folks living there who will miss those trees. Homeowners will never be able to recoup the value of their homes that sit 4 feet above a disaster waiting to happen.

This unbelievable scenario is no longer an isolated incident in Fort Worth. Why? Because companies like Chesapeake want to make more money and their ad campaign featuring you, Mr. Jones, is helping them do it.

I hope you will accept my offer to give you an unvarnished tour of Fort Worth in the near future. I want you to see with your own eyes how companies like Chesapeake Energy are turning Fort Worth into a Dirty Ol’ Town.

Sincerely,
Don Young
Founder, Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area