Pro-Fracking Rally Held in Richford

7/17/2012 (Updated 11:21:56 PM)

And about 2,000 fracking supporters made their way to the Broome-Tioga Sports Center in Richford to rally.

Energy In Depth sent us these images.

The American Petroleum Institute organized the event on Sunday called, "Vote 4 Energy".

Among the speakers: State Senator Tom Libous.

He told the crowd Governor Cuomo has listened to the concerns of those who want to see fracking come to New York State.

Libous says he believes the practice will become legal in New York; but can't say exactly when

Deon Daugherty

Reporter- Houston Business Journal

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When a colleague forwarded a story to me under the headline, “Fracking Industry Now Largest Employer of Recent PR Graduates,” I was intrigued, mostly because the oil and gas sector isn’t known for its proactive public relations strategies.

Perhaps such an embrace wouldn’t be a bad idea, but it turns out it’s not one rooted in reality. Scrolling down to find the source of the story, I saw that it was The Onion, a parody news site.

The “article” referred to an unnamed and altogether unsourced — and likely fictional — labor market study that supposedly found oil companies with hydraulic fracturing interests have taken the top spot — above the tobacco industry, gun enthusiasts and the folks on Wall Street — for hiring the most media savvy college graduates.

The article went on to suggest media savvy professionals were being hired in droves essentially to mislead the public.

I spoke with a media savvy professional in Houston, Ed Davis, general manager at Fifth Ring, a global public relations firm, about his reaction to the parody article. I’ve run across Davis and his colleagues a few times while covering energy, and he seemed to be someone who would give it to me straight.

First off, Davis said, not only would it likely take more experience than a recent grad possesses to pull the wool over the public’s eyes with regard to hydraulic fracturing, but by and large, these folks aren’t interested in obfuscation.

“I can tell you, that’s not them,” he said of The Onion’s depiction.

And what’s more, Davis said, the most successful oil and gas companies know better than to try anything shady.

“Generally, everybody’s heart is in the right place. They’re trying to run their business and be productive,” he said. “I think all companies should have seasoned public relations professionals in their shops, especially when you’re in an industry where the public is begging for as much clarity and straightforwardness that, rightfully, they deserve.”

I asked Davis if the parody article was offensive to him.

“No, I got more of a chuckle out of it,” he said. “But if in fact this study does exist and it shows that students coming out of universities with PR degrees have a better than average shot at finding a job, then I’m all for it.”