society of prof'l journalists

https://www.desmog.com/2019/10/22/empowerment-alliance-dark-money-natural-gas-industry/

no lnx many. vids

The Empowerment Alliance’ and Other New Dark Money Groups Sound a Lot Like the Natural Gas Industry

By Dana Drugmandon Oct 22, 2019

Amid the crescendo of calls for climate action and rising rage directed at the fossil fuel industry, petroleum producers and their allies are engaging in an aggressive promotional push focused on natural gas. The same month that the American Petroleum Institute (API) started running ads emphasizing gas’s role in reducing carbon emissions, a new dark money group has launched under the patriotic guise of promoting “America’s energy independence” by promoting, you guessed it, natural gas.

That group, called The Empowerment Alliance (TEA), is a registered 501(c)4 that does not disclose its donors (and is not required to under law). TEA launched on September 30 with a news release filled with natural gas industry talking points and attacks on the Green New Deal. The organization describes natural gas as “essential to our shared prosperity” in terms of jobs, national security, energy costs, and even air quality, while the Green New Deal is labeled as “radical and unachievable” and a “risky tax scheme.”

This anonymously funded organization, from its leaders to its messaging, is part of a broader chorus of misleading talking points that goes beyond the “natural gas and oil” industry (as the API ads say) to conservative media pundits and top strategists and officials within the Trump administration and the GOP.

Key Players and Plans

The Empowerment Alliance is known to be run by two top figures and lobbyists for the Republican Party.

James Nathanson, the executive director, is a longtime Republican operative and apparent dark money extraordinaire. Nathanson’s business consulting firm in Dayton, Ohio, James S. Nathanson & Associates, has funded various conservative candidates and Republican Party groups and SuperPACs. But while these donations are transparent, Nathanson has also headed a group called Freedom Vote, Inc. — another 501(c)(4) dark money organization. Freedom Vote (FV) has been accused of failing to report more than $1.1 million spent on political attack ads during the 2016 U.S. Senate race in Ohio.

Watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed official complaints against Freedom Vote to the IRS and Federal Election Commission (FEC), and even filed a lawsuit in June seeking to compel the FEC to take enforcement action against the organization. Nathanson was also a central subject to a 2004 complaint to the FEC for violating campaign finance law in Ohio election campaigns.

Terry Holt, partner at the PR firm HDMK, is TEA’s communications director and spokesman. He was senior communications strategist for the George W. Bush presidential campaigns and has worked for former House Speaker John Boehner. According to his HDMK profile, he has “provided long-term communications and media strategy for several chief executives at leading trade associations and corporations.” Notably, HDMK was hired in 2010 to do communications and PR for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), a coal industry lobby group.

HDMK boasts on its website about its work to build localized support for expanding big energy infrastructure: “To reset the conversation about the construction of energy infrastructure at the national level, HDMK built a grassroots coalition of workers, small and medium sized businesses, civic leaders, unions, and other local supporters. By activating local supporters and giving them a voice at the national level, we created favorable news coverage during the heated debate about the expansion of America’s energy infrastructure.”

The Empowerment Alliance appears poised to undertake this sameindustry-funded “grassroots” strategy. Holt told Politico the group plans to “run ads, engage in grassroots work and reach out to the media and may set up a lobbying operation down the road.” The group’s anonymous donors are hoping it will be a “significant factor” in the 2020 election.

The group also revealed that it intends to “mount an aggressive fundraising campaign in the coming months with plans to announce a formal leadership structure and new initiatives before the end of the year.” TEA has started running paid ads on Facebook spending a total of more than $8,000 so far.

Anonymous Donors?

A parade in Everett, Washington, in 2017 features an anti-dark money sign]

TEA says it intends to “engage the American people in an open and honest dialogue” and decries the “billionaire mega donors” and “deep pockets” supporting policies to curb fossil fuel production. Yetthe organization is notably opaque about its own funding sources and donors. TEA explicitly states its “policy is to not disclose its donors to the general public.” It also clarifies that there are no limits on donation amounts “by an individual, corporation, union, or trade association.” In other words, unlimited dark money is welcome.

Holt explained to Politico that the group’s donors are kept secret to protect them from opposition and protesters. And as E&E News reported, Holt also claimed donors feared safety risks from anti-fossil fuel activists, or as he called them — “eco-terrorists”: “Because ofviolence and trespassing and other criminal behavior, the Empowerment Alliance is going to protect its donors from that kind of risk,” he said. “We are offering donors this protection out of the concern that we would have should they come forward and the scrutiny of some of these eco-terrorists.”

Oil and gas industry veteran David Blackmon (who was involved in creating petroleum advocacy groups Energy In Depth and the American Natural Gas Alliance) praised TEA for “filling a void” left by the industry itself, but questioned why the industry wasn’t promoting and advocating for itself.

“However, it remains a wonder why the companies whose bottom lines depend on increasing the use of natural gas in this economy aren’t mounting a well-funded national effort of their own,” said Blackmon. Blackmon noted TEA’s lack of transparency invites skepticism and negative perceptions: “But the desire to hold its list of contributors confidential also opens TEA up to being labeled a ‘dark money’ operation in media reports, with all the attendant negative news coverage and public perceptions that inevitably come along with that designation.”

Gaslighting and the Green New Deal

One of the primary objectives of the Empowerment Alliance is attacking the comprehensive climate policy framework known as the Green New Deal. TEA seems to be pushing natural gas as some kind of Green New Deal alternative, its answer to energy security, economic growth, and climate change concerns.

This narrative contradicts the scientific reality of the climate crisis — which the United Nations says requires “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society.”

As Bill McKibben recently wrote in the New Yorker, “Many of [the gas defenders] will say that, thanks to natural gas, our ‘emissions’ have declined. But that will be themost literal gaslighting imaginable, a lie of real gravity.”

Chevron's LinkedIn ad promotes a common industry talking point about natural gas and reducing U.S. carbon emissions.

A Chevron ad on LinkedIn promotes a common industry talking point about natural gas and reducing U.S. carbon emissions.]

The fracking boom has led to an explosion in natural gas production over the past decade, contributing to the decline of coal power — as well as a decline in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions — as gas power plants have popped up. While burning natural gas releases fewer pollutants than burning coal, natural gas is comprised almost entirely of the potent greenhouse gas methane, and leaks in gas systems and industry venting and flaring are common. After accounting for these leaks, researchers at Cornell University have warned that fracked gas may be even worse for the climate than coal.

In contrast to TEA and industry messaging, U.S. carbon dioxide emissions actually rose last year by 3.4 percent, which included a nearly 2 percent increase in power-sector emissions. According to a 2019 report spearheaded by Oil Change International, continued oil and gas exploitation from new reservescould result in new carbon pollution equivalent to building nearly 1,000 coal-fired power plants.

Echoes of Industry

Nevertheless, conservative media and officials and associates of the Trump administration repeat these kinds of myths early and often. While some right-wing attacks on serious climate plans are clearly hyperbolic, like the false claim that Green New Deal proponents want to ban hamburgers or air travel, others are more cautiously veiled in concerns around economic impacts.

For example, the acting director of the Bureau of Land Management, William Perry Pendley,recently told a room full of environmental journalists [SEJ2019] that resource extraction is deeply tied to the region’s economy and jobs, calling it a “life or death issue” for communities. While oil and gas does have a heavy economic presence in the region, that framing downplays the ways fracking has also devastated local communities with documented negative health and safety impacts.

[gorgeos BS navajo Video: Carlyle begay ex rep, gowan ex spr, lots of cowboy hats, peterson spox]

And Dina Gilio-Whitaker, an Indigenous studies scholar and member of the Colville Confederated Tribes, countered Pendley, pointing to the massive social impact of “man camps” in booming oil and gas fields, which have led to the exploitation and abuse of women.

Pendley also said that a “keep it in the ground” policy for fossil fuels would be “absolutely insane.” But that is in fact a prescription from scientists and experts analyzing the impact of fossil fuel exploitation on the carbon budget, with the goal of avoiding catastrophic climate disruption.

Mandy Gunasekara attacking the Green New Deal on Fox News

Former Trump EPA official and current pro-Trump dark money group founder, Mandy Gunasekara attacked the Green New Deal resolution on Fox News. Credit: Fox News via Mandy Gunasekara on Facebook

Speaking at the same conference, former Trump Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official and founder of the pro-Trump 501(c)(4) Energy 45 Fund, Mandy Gunasekara also defended oil and gas, echoing the industry message about natural gas reducing emissions. Gunasekara, who was the aide that handed a snowball to Sen. James Inhofe during his infamous climate science denial speech on the Senate floor, claimed that climate proposals like the Green New Deal or carbon pricing are “premised on making energy more expensive.” This prompted fellow panelist Heather McTeer Toney of Moms Clean Air Force (and a regional EPA administrator under Obama) to push back.

“That is not true,” Toney said. “It’s information like that that gets put into the sphere of voters all over this country, and they believe rhetoric.” She explained that higher energy costs are the result of energy companies passing along their costs to consumers. “It’s that little piece you leave out about what’s really going on and does not connect all the dots,” Toney said.

The key, she added, is figuring out a way to not pass these costs on to ratepayers, “so that people are not paying for it and our children are not paying for it, and we stop lying to the American public.”

Like TEA, Gunasekara’s Energy 45 group does not disclose its donors, but the talking points coming from these dark money groups sound like a perfect echo of the oil and gas industry itself.

bd looks ok, bit of nepotism, scu

https://www.spj.org/sdxboard.asp

Pulliam's publishing empire came to include the Franklin (Indiana) Evening Star, the The Lebanon Reporter, The Indianapolis Star, the Muncie Star, the Arizona Republic and its one-time rival the Phoenix Gazette, the Indianapolis News, and the Huntington Herald-Press. He also owned several radio stations including WIRE radio in Indiana and KTAR in Arizona.

In 1934, Pulliam consolidated his holdings into Central Newspapers, Inc., a holding company designed to streamline the operations of his far flung assets. Central Newspapers continued to grow until it became a billion dollar media conglomerate owning outlets in Indiana, Arizona, Georgia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.

Businessman career

Son Eugene S. Pulliam joined the family business in 1935 as director of WIRE. Son-in-law James C. Quayle joined the business and headed several newspapers, including the Arizona Republic. Grandson Dan Quayle, the future Vice President of the United States, began his career at the Huntington Herald-Press.

Politics

Pulliam was for the most part a noted conservative and an active supporter of the Republican Party, although he endorsed Lyndon Johnson over Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential race. He was an outspoken advocate of freedom of the press.

Death/Posthumous

Eugene C. Pulliam died at his home in Arizona in 1975, aged 86. His widow, Nina Mason Pulliam, took over the presidency of Central Newspapers holding the office until 1979. She also became the publisher of theArizona Republic and the Phoenix Gazette. His son Eugene S. Pulliam took over as publisher of the Indianapolis Star and the Indianapolis News. His granddaughter Myrta Pulliam contributed to the Indianapolis Star's 1974 Pulitzer Prize-winning stories on police corruption.

On August 1, 2000 Central Newspapers, Inc. was acquired by the Gannett Company, Inc., for $2.6 billion. His estate, the Eugene C. Pulliam Trust, owned 78% of the company's stock and was the principal beneficiary of the transaction.

As a condition of his will, Pulliam ordered that the trust could not sell the corporation unless it was "seriously threatened" by a "substantially complete loss" of value. In a somewhat controversial move the trustees interpreted this clause loosely and declared that the merger would be the only way to prevent the corporation from suffering a long term loss of value.

#1 fratboy school?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DePauw_University

wikifluff beware pr guys, ebh edits sourcewatch

The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is one of the oldest organizations representing journalists in the United States. It was established in April 1909 at DePauw University,^[2][3] and its charter was designed by William Meharry Glenn.^[4] The ten founding members of Sigma Delta Chi included Gilbert C. Clippinger, Charles A. Fisher, William M. Glenn, Marion H. Hedges, L. Aldis Hutchens, Edward H. Lockwood, LeRoy H. Millikan, Eugene C. Pulliam,Paul M. Riddick, and Lawrence H. Sloan.^[5]

[hide]

Overview

The stated mission of the SPJ is to promote and defend the First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of the press; encourage high standards and ethical behavior in the practice of journalism; and promote and support diversity in journalism.^[6]

SPJ has nearly 300 chapters across the United States that bring educational programming to local areas and offer regular contact with other media professionals. Its membership base is more than 9,000 members of the media.

SPJ initiatives include a Legal Defense Fund that wages court battles to secure First Amendment rights; the Project Sunshine campaign, to improve the ability of journalists and the public to obtain access to government records; the magazine Quill; and the annual Sigma Delta Chi Awards, which honour excellence in journalism.

It has also drawn up a Code of Ethics that aims to inspire journalists to adhere to high standards of behavior and decision-making while performing their work.

The organization helped foster the creation of the American Reporter, the first electronic internet-only newspaper.

Its president of the SPJ in 2008-09 was Dave Aeikens.^[3] From 1939 to 1940, the president was the university professor Elmo Scott Watson, then at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Watson was particularly known for his work on the history of the American West.^[7]

In 2011, the SPJ Executive Board voted to retire an achievement award that had been given since 2000 in the name of Helen Thomas, after Thomas' career-ending comments demanding that Israeli Jews "get the hell out of Palestine" and subsequent follow-up claims of Jewish conspiracies in the U.S. While several longtime SPJ officers opposed any change to the award, due to a combination of Thomas' impressive career and their not finding any problems with her comments on Israel and Jews, the SPJ sought a compromise between doing nothing and in both nixing the award and removing all references to it from the organization's archives. An effort to reinstate the award was defeated by a sizable margin at the 2011 SPJ National Convention, and it remains defunct as of 2015.

Budget

In 2009, The Society of Professional Journalists had revenue of $1.4 million. It spent $1.6 million.^[8] The same year, the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation had a revenue of $934,731 and expenditures of $766,690.^[8]

Sigma Delta Chi received $312,500 in grants in 2009.^[9]

Recent Activity

On August 25, 2014, The Society of Professional Journalists had awarded nine of its professional chapters with the Circle of Excellence, a collection of awards that recognizes outstanding work in five areas: First Amendment/freedom of information, professional development, chapter communications, diversity and campus relations. In a sign that the organization is adapting to the ever changing social media world, one award stood out. The East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists won the coveted award for communication by creating an emergency internet #hashtag system.

The program works when during hazardous weather all news stations, government organizations, and citizens of the community tweet out emergency and non emergency pictures and information using the hashtag #knoxwx. Thus streamlining information on social media.^[10] The program was originated by Dan Andrews of the Knoxville Focus ^[11]

On 08/16/2014 SPJ President Dana Neuts formally announced the creation of a blog.^[12] This is significant because for many years the society did not recognize blogs as SPJ worthy.

References

:{Jump up:(style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:^ http://www.spj.org/spjboard.asp
:{Jump up:(style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:^ Glenn, William Meharry (1949). *The Sigma Delta Chi Story (1909-1949)*. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
^ :{Jump up to::(style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:^a ^b(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Professional_Journalists#cite_ref-09annual_3-1) 2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter from the presidents
:{Jump up:(style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:^ "William Meharry Glenn". Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
:{Jump up:(style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:^ "Sigma Delta Chi, Honorary Journalism Fraternity, Founded at DePauw". DePauw University. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
:{Jump up:(style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:^ Society of Professional Journalists - "Our Mission"
:{Jump up:(style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:^ Frank H. Maynard, Cowboy's Lament: A Life on the Open Range (Lubbock, Texas: Texas Tech University Press, 2010), p. 29, ISBN 978-0-89672-705-2
^ :{Jump up to::(style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:^a ^b(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Professional_Journalists#cite_ref-2009_SPJ_annual_report.2C_page_10_8-1) 2009 SPJ annual report, page 10
:{Jump up:(style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:^ 2009 SPJ annual report, page 6
:{Jump up:(style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:^ http://www.spj.org/news.asp?ref=1273
:{Jump up:(style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:^ http://etspj.org/new-universal-hashtag-for-local-news/
:{Jump up:(style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important;-webkit-user-select:none"):}:^ http://blogs.spjnetwork.org/president/2014/09/15/last-weeks-highlights/