BP Manager Questions ABC News Reporter For Using Laptop By Shore

video

by Frances Martel | 9:18 am, June 11th, 2010

» 5 comments

It seems like the longer the Gulf oil disaster remains in the news, the more opportunities for BP to be revealed as negligent or intentionally deceitful pop up. Yesterday, ABC News correspondent Matt Gutman found himself engaged in the latter when he was watched and questioned by a BP manager as he set up his laptop to talk on Skype by the shore in Orange Beach, Alabama– and near a cleanup crew.

“You mind if I ask why you’ve set up a camera right here while my guys are working?” the manager asked Gutman as the latter used his computer. BP workers walking up and down the shore are visible in the background. While the manager didn’t ask Gutman to leave, since he was told he would only be there for about five minutes, he still checked up on Gutman, seemingly to make sure that he didn’t ask the workers for interviews.

Gutman explains that it was common for BP managers to check up on him, and that journalists were being kept on watch. He added that, even if the top officials had made it policy not to bar employees from talking to journalists, he was still having a hard time getting anyone to talk about their company and the cleanup effort on the record. Even getting answers to questions like “who do you work for?” was difficult, he explained.

This isn’t the first time BP has been accused of trying to block journalists by keeping them away from shores and telling employees not to talk to them. But BP insists that they have done nothing of the sort, with COO Doug Suttles releasing a letter on Wednesday saying “BP has not and will not prevent anyone working in the cleanup operation from sharing his or her own experiences or opinions” and, furthermore, they are open to having the free press report on what they see by the Gulf. Except here is video proving that, if not prohibiting employees from speaking to the press, they have been giving reporters a hard time for doing their jobs– or even looking like they are doing their jobs– and tainting the integrity of a company which Americans are increasingly reluctant to believe about anything at all.

• Related: Matt Gutman’s Star Rises At ABC News

Video below:

ABC News, BP, Doug Suttles, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf Oil Spill, Mark Gutman

errxn

If I were Gutman, the response would have gone something like this:

“Why am I setting up a camera right here while your guys are working? I’ll tell you why. Because, the last time I checked, this beach is in America. And the last time I checked, it doesn’t belong to BP. So, unless whoever DOES own this beach, i.e. not you, has a problem with it, I’ll set up this camera wherever the fuck I want, however the fuck I want to do it, and use it however the fuck I please. If you’ve got a problem with that, you and your boss and your boss’ boss can feel free to go fuck yourselves. Have a nice day.”
http://www.facebook.com/people/Grayson-Daughters/521171469 Grayson Daughters

This Matt Gutman is one news hottie! Shame that’s all negated thinking he probably had to do Mimi Gurbst to get his hottie-man job.
TfT

Once again, Frances, your story is laughable. So BP asked a question of the reporter and you JUMP to a conclusion that says “Seemingly to make sure that he didn’t ask the workers for interviews.”

I would presume that BP is on to the state run media, they will portray anything in order to protect teh One.

Given how media folks these days misrepresent, play gotcha politics with every statement, edit/cut/slice/dice/repeat segments of interviews to portray something never intended to be portrayed, it doesn’t surprise me that someone would like to see EXACTLY what is going on, not the state run media’s interpretation of it.

Seemingly, indeed. Too funny.
DrFunke

Is anyone surprised by this? When more animals start dying and going onto the shores, expect BP to throttle any and ALL ATTEMPTS to take pics/videos of them
Sanjay

Sorry, I just don’t see anything nefarious about this. It simply seems like a manager who is curious (and maybe a little perturbed) as to why the reporter chose to plop himself right in the path of his workers trying to performed their job.