One Side of the Halliburton Controversy

Analysis:

This is a very short piece and does not really tell the viewer much about this particular protest. In the piece, the newsreader notes that “The Energy giant moved it’s meeting to Duncan Oklahoma, critics saying to avoid the public lime light. But protesters found them anyway. Sixteen people were arrested outside the meeting. Regardless the company’s leader says they have nothing to hide.” This is then followed by an unidentified Halliburton Executive who says “the government likes what we are doing, we’re getting excellent marks. We’re in the public profile today, we have to accept that as a business.” The story then ends with the newsreader noting that Halliburton moved the meeting to Oklahoma in order to “honor its Southern Oklahoma roots.” This Halliburton executive is the only voice actually heard in the story. No voices from the protesters are presented and neither are any reasons given as to why they are protesting. Nor is the statement made by the Halliburton executive subjected to any scrutiny in the piece. The Halliburton executive says that “the government likes what we are doing, we’re getting excellent marks.” That’s a verifiable statement, and if a reporter looked into it, they would find that it is certainly not as cut and dried as the Halliburton Exec would like people to think. So for example, there have been serious allegations of fraud and overcharging concerning Halliburton’s Iraq contracts. According to the Pentagon’s Defense Contract Audit Agency in 2005, Halliburton had one billion dollars in “questioned” expenses and 442 million dollars in “unsupported” expenses. Just last month the Senate Democratic Policy Committee (DPC) held a hearing on allegations that Halliburton and its KBR subsidiary knowingly exposed thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq to hazardous levels of unhealthy water which included human fecal matter. These are a couple examples of some of the numerous controversies that have surrounded Halliburton and a reporter would not have to dig very far to find this information out. Unfortunately, the story run on WXMI did not bother to present any of this information, choosing instead to present only Halliburton’s side of the story.

Story:

WXMI 17 Newsreader – Meanwhile shareholders of Halliburton showed up to their annual meeting only to be greeted by more than a hundred picketers. The Energy giant moved it’s meeting to Duncan Oklahoma, critics saying to avoid the public lime light. But protestors found them anyway. Sixteen people were arrested outside the meeting. Regardless the company’s leader says they have nothing to hide.

Halliburton Executive – As I said in the meeting, the government likes what we are doing, we’re getting excellent marks. We’re in the public profile today, we have to accept that as a business.

Newsreader – As for moving the meeting out of Texas, Halliburton says it’s just trying to honor its Southern Oklahoma roots.

Total Time: 34 seconds