Melissa Aronczyk

<div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">https://www.desmog.com/2022/09/14/house-committee-pr-climate-disinformation/</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="">On September 14, a congressional committee probed the history that PR firms have played in creating and spreading climate disinformation in order to block climate policy and promote fossil fuel interests.The <a href="https://naturalresources.house.gov/hearings/hybrid-oandi-oversight-hearing_september-14-2022" data-wpel-link="external" target="blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; box-shadow: none;">hearing</a>, held by the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee Oversight & Investigations, invited several firms, including Singer Associates, Story Partners, and Pac/West Communications. None of them showed up.Instead, the hearing heard from several witnesses, including experts in the PR industry. One of them was Christine Arena, a former VP at Edelman who now researches and exposes greenwashing and industry obfuscation. Arena laid out three overarching campaign strategies that PR firms use on behalf of their fossil fuel clients, citing a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-021-03244-4" data-wpel-link="external" target="blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; box-shadow: none;">study</a> from Brown University researchers Robert Brulle and Carter Werthman. Those strategies are corporate image promotion, third-party mobilization (astroturf groups), and delegitimization of the opposition.“The U.S. oil and gas sector has always pushed for policies that allow for new fossil fuel expansion, and against policies that would reduce demand,” Arena said in a prepared testimony. “But what has changed recently is the intensity of the industry’s pursuits, and the vast resources it deploys through public relations and lobbying efforts meant to crush potential regulatory obstacles in its path.”The oil industry and its hired PR hands continue to deploy these strategies. A recent example Arena cited was the oil industry’s effort to opportunistically <a href="https://www.desmog.com/2022/05/24/oil-gas-industry-ukraine-climate-policy-influencemap/" data-wpel-link="internal" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; box-shadow: none;">seize</a> on Russia’s war in Ukraine to promote long-standing policy wishes, while misleading the public by blaming climate policy for causing higher energy prices.These tactics are especially aggressive at the state and local level, where “brute financial force” is used to kill off climate initiatives, Arena added.That power imbalance was on vivid display in Colorado in 2018 when grassroots activists succeeded in getting a ballot initiative put to voters that would have imposed greater setback distances on fracking operations, limiting how close to homes and schools new oil and gas wells could be drilled. A year earlier, <a href="https://www.desmog.com/2017/05/26/anadarko-depressed-stock-colorado-explosion/" data-wpel-link="internal" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; box-shadow: none;">two deadly oil and gas infrastructure explosions</a> had rocked Firestone, Colorado.The industry poured money into that election, outspending community and environmental groups by a factor of more than <a href="https://publicintegrity.org/politics/state-politics/six-environmental-ballot-measures-attract-massive-out-of-state-and-industry-cash/" data-wpel-link="external" target="blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; box-shadow: none;">thirty to one</a>. Noble Energy, a large fracking company (now owned by Chevron), hired DC-based PR firm Story Partners, to help defeat the measure. Story Partners created two astroturf campaigns, based on the firm’s research that showed that support for setback distances declined when voters heard about the “devastating consequences” that it would have on the state’s economy. The campaign ran ads to promote “clean” natural gas, warn of damage to Colorado’s economy, and positioned Noble Energy as a responsible partner. Story Partners still displays its campaign to defeat the ballot initiative on its <a href="https://storypartnersdc.com/case-study-noble-energy/" data-wpel-link="external" target="blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; box-shadow: none;">website</a> as a successful “case study” of how it protected its client’s assets.The House committee also heard from Anne Lee Foster, who held an unpaid position in 2018 for Colorado Rising, a grassroots group supporting the ballot measure to establish drilling setback distances. She spoke about the multiple instances in which people would harass her and her colleagues as they tried to gather signatures.Around that time, Colorado Public Radio <a href="https://www.cpr.org/2018/07/26/protests-to-slow-signature-efforts-another-front-in-colorados-oil-and-gas-ballot-battle/" data-wpel-link="external" target="blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; box-shadow: none;">reported</a> that an internal Anadarko Petroleum document, leaked to Colorado Rising, asked employees to report the locations of signature gatherers via a phone texting system. Once the location was identified, counter-protesters appeared at a moment’s notice, shouting and harassing the signature gatherers and passersby who considered signing on to the ballot initiative effort.   According to a report produced by the House committee, oil companies including Anadarko Petroleum, Noble Energy, and Chevron, had set up two front groups, “Protecting Colorado’s Environment, Economy and Energy Independence” (Protect Colorado), and “Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development” (CRED). Those two groups then funneled most of their proceeds to an Oregon-based PR firm called PAC/West. The two front groups offered a “buffer” between the oil drillers and the PR campaign, the committee report said.Although it was later deleted from its website, PAC/West <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181201180329/https:/pacwestcom.com/portfolio/energy-natural-resources/" data-wpel-link="external" target="blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; box-shadow: none;">described</a> how it was paid by Anadarko Petroleum and Noble Energy to “lead a statewide education campaign” to defeat the ballot measure. Ultimately, the ballot measure was narrowly defeated at the polls in 2018.“I personally suffered from what I feel is stalking or harassment in a number of other circumstances throughout this campaign,” Anne Lee Foster told the committee on Wednesday in her prepared testimony.That was one small example of a web of influence between a handful of PR firms and the oil and gas industry. “Let me be clear: There is nothing standard or ethical about these practices. They are deceptive communications practices that mislead our citizenry and undermine our democracy,” Arena said.The work that PR firms do goes far beyond simply promoting the image of their clients, according to Melissa Aronczyk, an associate professor at Rutgers University’s School of Communications & Information, another witness at the congressional hearing. “Public relations firms often present themselves and their work in terms of facilitating or amplifying ideas or information. In fact, public relations is not only communicating ideas and information but coming up with those ideas and creating that information,” Aronczyk said in her testimony. PR firms provide long-term strategic planning, set up front groups, manufacture the illusion of support, and monitor and target opponents. She said the work goes back many decades.PR firms also operate a broad network of influence out of public view, sharing information among multiple clients and trade groups, which allows companies to “minimize the reputational and financial risk of speaking out against climate action,” Aronczyk said.“Because this coordinated infrastructure of anti-environmental action is operating behind the scenes, members of the public and lawmakers have no way of knowing if the campaigns operating on behalf of fossil fuels are real or manufactured,” she added.But the growing pressure on the PR industry is having an effect. Clean Creatives, a climate campaign targeting the advertising industry, says that nearly 400 PR firms have <a href="https://cleancreatives.org/agency-signers" data-wpel-link="external" target="blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; box-shadow: none;">signed</a> a pledge to not work with coal, oil, and gas companies.“We’re seeing the beginning of a transformation of the PR and Advertising industry when it comes to climate,” Duncan Meisel, executive director of the Clean Creatives campaign, said in a statement. “Oil and gas companies used to be seen as prestige clients, now agencies are embarrassed to admit that they work for them. But this dirty work is still going on in the shadows, making the spotlight of this House hearing and investigation all the more important. The future of creativity is clean and it’s time for agencies to step into the light.”One PR firm was not at Wednesday’s hearing: <a href="https://www.desmog.com/fti-consulting/" data-wpel-link="internal" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; box-shadow: none;">FTI Consulting</a>. The House committee is <a href="https://www.desmog.com/2022/08/26/fti-consulting-fossil-fuels-work-climate-disinformation-house-natural-resources-subpoena/" data-wpel-link="internal" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; box-shadow: none;">investigating</a> FTI, which has refused to turn over documents requested by the congressional investigators.“We initiated the subpoena process for FTI Consulting, which has one of the worst reputations in the business. The negotiations are ongoing. The trajectory is sadly not good,” Rep. Katie Porter said in her closing comments on Wednesday. “What are they trying to hide? Is it their creation of fake grassroots groups for their clients to hide behind? Was it the creation of fake social media profiles to track plans of activist groups? Or is there something worse? The harder FTI Consulting fights, the more it appears that they have a lot to lose by having their tactics exposed through oversight.”She added: “We are just getting started.”
journalism & Media Studies, School of Communication & Information<ul class="fields-container" style="background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 25px; list-style: none;"><li class="field-entry " style="line-height: 1.45em; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 3px; list-style: inherit;">Website: <a href="http://melissaaronczyk.com/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.2s ease-out 0s; font-weight: bold;">Website</a></li></ul><div itemprop="articleBody" style="">Dr. Melissa Aronczyk’s current research critically inquires into the extent, influence, and impact of professional advocacy campaigns on debates in the climate change public sphere. The research aims to explain the extent and impact of strategic communications campaigns on political and public responses to specific U.S. policy efforts around climate change. <h2 style="background: none !important; margin: 0px 0px 5px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.38; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; padding: 10px 0px; text-shadow: none; border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(209, 209, 209); box-shadow: none !important;">Books: </h2>Aronczyk, Melissa and Espinoza, Maria I. 2022: A Strategic Nature: Public Relations and the Politics of American Environmentalism. Oxford University Press.<h2 style="background: none !important; margin: 0px 0px 5px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.38; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; padding: 10px 0px; text-shadow: none; border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(209, 209, 209); box-shadow: none !important;">Journal articles: </h2>Aronczyk, Melissa and Espinoza, Maria I. 2021. Big Data for Climate Action or Climate Action for Big Data? Big Data & Society. Aronczyk, Melissa; Brulle, Robert. Carmichael, Jason. 2020. Corporate Promotion and Climate Change: An Analysis of Key Variables Affecting Advertising Spending by Major Oil Corporations, 1986-2015. Climatic Change. Aronczyk, Melissa and Espinoza, Maria I. 2019. Sustainable Communication: Green PR and the Export of Corporate Environmentalism, 1987-1997. Environmental Sociology. <h2 style="background: none !important; margin: 0px 0px 5px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.38; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; padding: 10px 0px; text-shadow: none; border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(209, 209, 209); box-shadow: none !important;">Other published work: </h2>Aronczyk, Melissa. 2020. Public Communication in a Promotional Culture. Media Research for Changing Societies, Cambridge University Press. Aronczyk, Melissa and Brulle, Robert. 2020. Environmental Countermovements: Organized Opposition to Climate Change Action in the United States. Handbook of Global Sustainability Governance, London: Routledge. </div>=Melissa Aronczyk | Rutgers Universityhttps://comminfo.rutgers.edu › aronczyk-melissaMelissa Aronczyk's research and teaching address critical issues in promotional culture, global media and politics, and environmental communication.
Aronczyk, Melissa - Rutgers Climate Institutehttps://climatechange.rutgers.edu › people › affiliatesDr. Melissa Aronczyk's current research critically inquires into the extent, influence, and impact of professional advocacy campaigns on debates in the ...PublicationsBranding the Nation: The Global Business of National IdentityM AronczykOxford University Press2013'Living the Brand': Nationality, Globality, and the Identity Strategies of Nation Branding ConsultantsM AronczykInternational Journal of Communication2008New and Improved Nations: Branding National IdentityM AronczykPracticing Culture (eds Craig Calhoun and Richard Sennett)2007Blowing up the Brand: Critical Perspectives on Promotional CultureM Aronczyk, D PowersPeter Lang2010How to Do Things with Brands: Uses of National IdentityM AronczykCanadian Journal of Communication2009Introduction: Blowing up the BrandM Aronczyk, D PowersBlowing up the Brand: Critical Perspectives on …2010Corporate Promotion and Climate Change: An Analysis of Key Variables affecting Advertising Spending by Major Oil …RJ Brulle, M Aronczyk, J CarmichaelClimatic Change2020Introduction: Cultures of CirculationM Aronczyk, A CraigPoetics2012Branding History at the Canadian Museum of CivilizationM Aronczyk, MJ BradyCanadian Journal of Communication2015Apprehending Public Relations as a Promotional IndustryM Aronczyk, L Edwards, A KantolaPublic Relations Inquiry2017See more onGoogle ScholarBooks
A Strategic Nature: Public Relations and the Politics of American Environmentalism2021
Branding the Nation: The Global Business of National Identity2013
Aronczyk, Melissa - Rutgers sociology departmenthttps://sociology.rutgers.edu › people › faculty › 720-a...Melissa Aronczyk's research examines questions at the intersection of media, politics and identity. She is the author of Branding the Nation: The Global ...
Melissa Aronczyk: Homehttps://melissaaronczyk.comMelissa Aronczyk is an Associate Professor of Media Studies in the School of Communication & Information at Rutgers University. She is the co-author, ...
Melissa Aronczyk - Associate Professor - LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com › melissa-aronczyk-1947b77New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States · Associate Professor · Rutgers University School of Communication and InformationMelissa Aronczyk · Associate Professor at Rutgers University School of Communication and Information · Activity · Experience · Education · More activity by Melissa.
‪Melissa Aronczyk‬ - ‪Google Scholar‬https://scholar.google.com › citationsAssociate Professor, School of Communication and Information, Rutgers University - ‪‪Cited by 1974‬‬ - ‪nationalism‬ - ‪globalization‬ - ‪promotional‬ ...
Melissa Aronczyk at Rutgers - State University of New Jerseyhttps://www.ratemyprofessors.com › ShowRatingsLove Professor Aronczyk. Really my favorite Professor at Rutgers and Media and Politics is such a thought provoking class. She really brings everyone's opinions ...
Melissa Aronczyk - Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Melissa_AronczykMelissa Aronczyk is a Canadian media studies scholar working in the United States. She is a member of the faculty of Rutgers University in the School of ...
Melissa Aronczyk - Brown Climate Social Science Networkhttps://cssn.org › ScholarsMelissa Aronczyk is an associate professor in the School of Communication & Information at Rutgers University and affiliated faculty with the Rutgers ...
Melissa Aronczyk (@M_Aronczyk) / Twitterhttps://twitter.com › m_aronczykMelissa Aronczyk. @M_Aronczyk. Media Studies Prof. @RutgersCommInfo. New book w. @maripapel. : A Strategic Nature: Public Relations & the Politics of U.S. ...<div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div>ref2018 npr no pix<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">Published 7.26.2018 | Updated 7.27.2018<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">Here’s how heated the battle over oil and gas development has become in Colorado: Protesters follow people collecting signatures for a potential ballot measure to limit drilling. They carry banners with counter-messages and urge people not to sign petitions<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">Some people call it harassment. Others say it’s fair game under the First Amendment.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">Anti-fracking coalition <a href="https://corising.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 700; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline; transition: color 125ms ease-in-out 0s;">Colorado Rising for Health and Safety</a> began gathering signatures for <a href="https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Initiatives/titleBoard/results/2017-2018/97Results.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 700; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline; transition: color 125ms ease-in-out 0s;">Initiative 97</a> in April. If it reaches the ballot and wins approval with voters, the buffer between homes and new drilling would increase to 2,500 feet — five times the current limit.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">There’s little wonder why the oil and gas industry opposes the measure. A <a href="https://cogcc.state.co.us/documents/library/Technical/Miscellaneous/COGCC_2018_Init_97_GIS_Assessment_20180702.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 700; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline; transition: color 125ms ease-in-out 0s;">recent study</a> from state regulators found it would make 85 percent of non-federal land in Colorado off-limits to drilling.<ul style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem 2.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: outside; list-style-image: none;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.75; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Oil And Gas Advocates: <a href="https://www.cpr.org/news/story/oil-and-gas-advocates-warn-taxpayers-they-could-pay-up-later-if-they-vote-against" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 700; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline; transition: color 125ms ease-in-out 0s;">Taxpayers Could Pay Up Later For Voting Against Drilling</a></li></ul><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">The group first raised complaints about protesters dogging its circulators over a month ago. Just recently, Colorado Rising believes it learned how the protesters might be finding them.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">Colorado Rising volunteer Anne Lee Foster said an anonymous employee at Anadarko Petroleum shared an internal document. It appears to ask employees to report when they see Initiative 97 canvassers. The letter includes an email address and a text message hotline.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">Brian Loma, who helps run the signature campaign for Colorado Rising, showed CPR News what can happen when someone — in this case him — reports the location of a signature gatherer. As he stood nearby Denver’s Civic Center Park, he gave away the gatherer's location.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">“So, now we are going to say ‘food trucks by the Capitol,’” he said as he punched away at a text on his phone.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">Kimmy Fry, a petite 19-year-old with pixie haircut and a fanny pack with a built-in speaker system, was one of the paid signature gatherers working that day. She said the chosen location was good territory. It had no shortage of people she could approach as they got lunch from food trucks during the annual <a href="http://www.civiccenterconservancy.org/event-civic-center-eats-2018_88.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 700; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline; transition: color 125ms ease-in-out 0s;">Civic Center Eats</a> showcase.<figure class="wp-block-image" style="margin: 3.125rem 0px 2.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: table; max-width: 100%;"><span class="image-credit" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0.188rem 0.313rem 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; text-align: right;">Sam Brasch/CPR News<figcaption style="margin: 0.5em 0px 1em; padding: 0.313rem 0px 0.938rem; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(18, 18, 28); border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.28571; vertical-align: baseline; display: table-caption; caption-side: bottom;">The protestors that arrived to trail signature gatherers in Civic Center Park were not bashful about keeping a close proximity to interactions with the public.</figcaption></figure><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">With a goal of 10 signatures in a half hour, Fry was soon approached by a group of young men. They opened their bags and pulled out signs.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">“This Petitioner Wants To Ban Fracking In Colorado. So does Vladimir Putin,” read one. Another sign proclaimed “Save CO Jobs.” The four protesters surrounded Fry on all sides. Two others eventually arrived before splitting off to follow other petitioners.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">One of the newly arrived protestors gave his name as Cole Rose. He said his interest in oil and gas issues started during debates in high school. Another protester initially gave his name as Tyson but later recanted and said his actual name is Tyler James.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">“If fracking is banned from Colorado, the amount of jobs we would lose is so detrimental to our economy,” Rose said. He added that he was not being paid to stop Fry from collecting signatures and was just expressing an opinion.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">“We’re not physically not allowing them to do it. We’re just saying our mind. If people really want to do it, they can still sign if they want to.”<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">Fry pointed out that she had already met some of the same protestors while canvassing. In a more lighthearted moment, the entire group paused together for a break in the shade. Fry asked what they thought of her new sunglasses, which she worried were too large for her face. They approved of the new look.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">Still, the protestors stuck close behind Fry for hours. Whenever she approached someone, they shouted “Don’t sign! Don’t sign!”<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">Many people enjoying the food trucks ignored the shouting and signed the petition anyway. But the protesters did appear to have deterred Ben Hammond. He declined to sign the drilling setback petition, saying he needed more information.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">“I’m curious if I would have signed the fracking thing if they hadn’t been here,” he mused. “In the past, I’ve been quicker to put my signature on ballot initiatives and stuff. So maybe they were effective. I don’t know.”<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">CPR News reached out to Anadarko to inquire about their connection to the protestors. Instead, <a href="https://www.protectcolorado.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 700; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline; transition: color 125ms ease-in-out 0s;">Protect Colorado</a> responded. The industry-backed group opposes the setback initiative as a “bad business measure.” Anadarko Petroleum is the largest funder of Protect Colorado — <a href="http://www.cpr.org/news/story/protect-colorado-has-a-84m-piggy-bank-ready-to-do-battle-this-november" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 700; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline; transition: color 125ms ease-in-out 0s;">to the tune of almost $2.5 million as of June</a>.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">A spokesperson relayed a statement that did not confirm nor deny any relation to the protesters, but said:<blockquote style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1.25rem; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 4px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(18, 18, 28); border-image: initial; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; quotes: none;">“We are exercising our First Amendment rights, which includes asking people to think about and read what they are signing. We have also asked the public and oil and gas employees to let us know when they see individuals gathering signatures on the 2,500-foot setback measure. This is standard practice in modern campaigns. We get asked about the activities in the field and want to understand what is going on. Monitoring opposition is important. The proponents of these bad measures monitor us as well.”</blockquote><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">Protect Colorado’s statement said they felt that proponents were not presenting the impacts of anti-oil and gas measures accurately to the public. Their statement concluded that “ensuring people know the facts about the petition they are signing and what it would do to Colorado’s economy is responsible advocacy.”<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">Rick Reiter, a Democratic political consultant who works on ballot issues, said he’s heard of paid petition protests on statewide issues going back to 2014. He doesn’t think much of the tactic.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">“You have to literally hire people to go find people who are hired to collect signatures to create noise around them that scares away potential signers,” he said. “It rarely, if ever, works.”<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">Yet, even small setbacks could be a big problem for Colorado Rising at this point. They have less than two weeks to collect the rest of their signatures. The group said it hopes the dispute it had with the company it hired to collect signatures, Direct Action Partners, doesn't impact their ability to get on the ballot.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">On Thursday, they accused company owner Mike Selvaggio of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/26/us/colorado-anti-fracking-signatures.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 700; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline; transition: color 125ms ease-in-out 0s;">holding seven boxes of completed petitions hostage</a><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"> in a payment dispute. By midday Friday, the missing <a href="https://www.cpr.org/news/story/colorado-rising-recovers-missing-petitions" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 700; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline; transition: color 125ms ease-in-out 0s;">petitions were recovered</a>.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.55556; vertical-align: baseline;">Colorado Rising has until Aug. 6 to gather 98,000 valid signatures to qualify for the statewide ballot.</div><div></div></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">ref</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div>Corporate Tax Policy Organized Labor Labor/Management Health Care Energy & Natural Resources Brochure Video</div><div>ENERGY & NATURAL RESOURCES</div><div>Pac/West recognizes the importance of science-based resource management, including domestic energy production, and we are proud to work on behalf of leading corporations and associations in the energy and natural resource industries.</div><div>
</div><div>From solar power to fracking, and spotted owls to predator control, Pac/West has the expertise to help you achieve success. Whether you are seeking to pass new legislation, defeat a ballot measure, execute a large-scale public relations campaign or promote your position to a targeted audience, our team has the experience to deliver a favorable outcome.</div><div>
</div><div>One example of our success in the energy and natural resources arena is our award-winning work for Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and Noble Energy Inc.</div><div>
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</div><div>COLORADANS FOR RESPONSIBLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT</div><div>In recent years, Colorado has become ground zero for the debate over domestic energy production—in particular, hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. To push back against misinformation and shift public opinion in favor of energy development, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and Noble Energy Inc. hired Pac/West to lead a statewide education campaign in concert with a political advocacy campaign.</div><div>
</div><div>Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development (CRED) was formed in September 2013 to directly engage the public and respond to industry challenges in an aggressive yet strategic manner. CRED is driven by research, including public opinion analysis, message testing and analytics.</div><div>
</div><div>2013</div><div>CRED is an educational effort that informs Coloradans about the economic, social and environmental benefits of safe and responsible energy development.</div><div>
</div><div>CRED.org / StudyFracking.com</div><div>
</div><div>We launched English and Spanish websites—CRED.org and StudyFracking.com—to spread information, advance our policy positions and engage our audiences. The two sites received more than 1 million page views within 13 months.</div><div>
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</div><div>We created ads tailored to Denver Broncos football fans and used geo-fencing technology to ensure that every cell phone at the game received the ad.</div><div>
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</div><div>We led a robust earned media campaign to secure coverage in outlets such as the Coloradoan and the National Journal.</div><div>
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</div><div>Pac/West won a 2014 Gold Pollie Award from the American Association of Political Consultants for our work on CRED.</div><div>
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</div><div>Aggressively leveraging digital platforms, we attained more than 21,987 Facebook likes and 3,205 Twitter followers in 13 months.</div><div>
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</div><div>Pac/West sent 600,000 pieces of direct mail with messages tailored to our target audiences.</div><div>
</div><div>View the Brochure</div></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">==</div></div>