I always find it interesting to observe corporate crises and discuss what could have been done differently. The March 24, 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill is a textbook PR example of what not to do.
Who would have thought that 19 years later, this crisis still raises it's ugly head to haunt Exxon in the court room, in the pocket book, and just as importantly in public opinion.
Fishermen and Native Alaskans are asking for punitive damages claiming that Exxon is still not accepting responsibility for the world's most publicized oil spill. Not only are they pleading their case to the Supreme Court, they are also pleading it to the Court of Public Opinion (see the PR Newswire and The Whole Truth links below). Exxon acts as though it is trying to accept responsibility but even their own comments via their website appear to sugar coat the facts.
It seems that after almost 20 years, Exxon's corporate leadership might want to figure a way to make this go away. How much is a reputation worth?
Yesterday's reports on NPR:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=75029288
PR Newswire
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/02-07-2008/0004751475&EDATE=
The Whole Truth - Cordova District Fishermen United and Prince William Soundkeeper have joined together to create a website The Whole Truth about the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
http://www.wholetruth.net/
Exxon - Buried deep within its website, Exxon has released comments on the matter.
http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/about_issues_valdez.aspx
Thursday, February 28, 2008
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