Chevron Rebuts '60 Minutes' With Its Own Video

Chevron got grilled on "60 Minutes" a couple of weeks ago for its alleged contamination of the Amazon rain forest in Ecuador. If you're huge oil company, that's definitely par for the course. Causing environment damage? Check. Getting caught? Check. Getting unfavorable treatment on 60 Minutes? Check.

This is the pattern that major multi-nationals have been subjected to for decades. And without a doubt, many of them have been absolutely as guilty as charged. This isn't a blog post applauding a cover-up or making excuses for corporate pollution.

But this is a blog about media relations and managing public perception, and we call 'em as we see 'em. So we have to say that Chevron's aggressive move to combat the 60 Minutes piece by producing its own video was a good move.

From the Times story:

Gene Randall, a former CNN correspondent, spent about five months on the project, which was posted on the Internet in April, three weeks before the “60 Minutes” report was shown on May 3.“Chevron hired me to tell its side of the story,” he said. “That’s what I did.”

That's how you do it, folks. You don't sit back and wait and then react. You go on the offense and present your side of the story, whether it is through an expensive media like network-quality video or by printing up flyers.