NBC’s Anne Thompson, Live From The Gulf: ‘I Get Frustrated With BP Like Any Reporter’
NBC News’ Anne Thompson has been reporting on the BP oil disaster since the very beginning – she estimates she has been on scene for 90 of the 99 days.
We talked to Thompson today about Tony Hayward‘s exit, comparisons to Katrina and the ways in which BP isn’t cooperating with the media.
You can hear the full BlogTalkRadio interview below, which took place this morning. It is the first in our new series, “Live From The Gulf,” in which we talk to reporters and anchors who have covered the oil disaster over these past 100 days. Tomorrow we’ll talk to ABC News’ David Muir. (Listen to last month’s “Live From The Spill” podcast series.)
Here are a couple key exchanges from Thompson, with the full interview after:
(3:27) Mediaite: When we talked to reporters almost two months ago, in dealing with BP one of the issues was a lack of communication in their dealings with the media. Do you think the flow between BP and the press is better?
Thompson: It depends. I get frustrated with them like any reporter does because sometimes when you’re on deadline you need an immediate answer and its hard to get…I think their dealings with the media are better today than when it started. But is it perfect? No. It never is.
(9:48) Mediaite: Would you say this is the longest single story you’ve covered?
Thompson: I’d say yes. It’s the longest I’ve been on any story consistently. We’re all pretty amazed. If you had told me when I got on a plane that Thursday night that 100 days into it we would have done stories every single night I would have been stunned. That’s not how we saw this story when we came down. I can remember somebody saying to me on the first story I did was ‘you’re doing a story about the environmental story’ because they hadn’t found a leak yet.
(11:55) Mediaite: You’re not new to the region – five years ago, with your coverage of Katrina and NBC News’ award-winning coverage. Do you see any comparisons between the two stories?
Thompson: Very much so, if for no other reason than the way a lot of people down here react, is shaped by Katrina…The scars of Katrina are evident and have not healed. It shapes people’s reactions to it. It makes them weary but it also gives them strength because they know after Katrina they can rebuild, they can come back.
Here’s Thompson’s take on one thing she wishes BP did that they are not doing to help the media:
Check out the full interview here, including why Thompson thinks Hayward “had to go” but also why you’d “probably like him a lot” as a person:
