American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2012 - 249

Foundation For Energy Education

TV Show To Tackle 'The Hard Question'
By Danny Boyd
Special Correspondent
HOUSTON-As it steps into 2012 with
an eye toward broadening its growing
membership and industrywide appeal,
Texas' Foundation for Energy Education
is playing a major role in helping to
launch a television program aimed at educating the public about the realities of
the oil and gas industry in Texas and energy challenges facing the nation.
Plans call for The Hard Question to
air initially in Houston, followed by a
rollout in five other major media markets
in Texas, says foundation President Pat
French. "The bottom line is that energy
is the most important issue of our age,"
he stresses. "The Hard Question, as the
title suggests, deals with tough issues
that the public wants answers to."
The 30-minute program will include
a news talk format and social media presence through Twitter and Facebook, as
well as a major, informative online presence, French says. The foundation will
use in-depth tracking and analysis to
measure its influence with the broadcast
team adhering to journalistic integrity
and a commitment to exploring the most
critical energy issues, he adds.
The show, which will air on Sunday
mornings, is being positioned to tap into
audiences that already watch Face the
Nation, Meet the Press, and other nationally popular Sunday news programs,
he says.
Veteran broadcaster Blanquita Walsh
Cullum will moderate The Hard Question,
French details. He says Cullum, who
began her 25-year broadcasting career in
San Antonio, is a regular on national network news and political talk shows. She
was appointed to the U.S. Broadcasting
Board of Governors by former President
George W. Bush. Under George H.W.
Bush, Cullum was White House liaison
to the Federal Emergency Management
Agency and executive assistant to the
deputy director.
Emmy-award winner Arthur Bergel
will be director, French adds, with triple
Emmy winner Michelle Fitzgerald serving
as producer.
Game Changer
New Foundation for Energy Education
Chairman David L. Bole says the production team of accomplished heavy-hitters will enable The Hard Question to
correct incomplete and untruthful information about the industry for a U.S.

public that remains skeptical or uniformed
about the industry's economic contributions and the solutions it offers.
"In America, we face a tremendous
challenge to provide our citizens with affordable, reliable energy," says Bole,
managing director at Quantum Energy
Partners in Houston. "Educating the public
about the technology, economics and politics associated with producing oil and
gas will have a tremendous impact on
our industry. Energy is so important to
the future of our nation that we can't
afford to have decisions made on untruthful
or incomplete information."
French says he believes the show will
be a game changer for oil and gas. "The
Hard Question will personify excellence
and provide a platform to engage the
public directly," he asserts. "Paid advertising can be very successful, but it has
limitations. The Hard Question allows
us to engage the public directly and
address our critics."
The program will be produced in
Houston, ostensibly the world's energy
capital and home to a growing number
of industry critics, French points out.
In 2005, the Foundation for Energy
Education conducted statewide studies
about public attitudes toward the oil and
gas industry. The results were a call to
action, French recalls: Public perceptions
were far more negative than expected.
"Demographics in Texas have changed
dramatically, and the amount of misunderstanding about our industry is astonishing," he reports. "Citizens who have
lived in Houston three years or fewer
have far more negative attitudes toward
the industry. Those are the people who
don't have any experience with oil and
gas. They come from other states and
countries. So it's really a matter of educating that segment of the population. It's
vital because public attitudes determine,
to a very large degree, public policy. Legislators vote the views of their constituents."
The foundation is teaming this year
with the Greater Houston Partnership,
which is the city's chamber of commerce,
in a media campaign utilizing print, radio
and television in the Houston market,
French says. In 2012, the foundation also
will continue its media campaigns throughout the Lone Star State as funding permits.
Standing Independent
In 2011, the Foundation for Energy
Education transitioned away from its formal
affiliation with the Texas Alliance of

Energy Producers, in keeping with the organization's long-term plan, French says.
"We are totally independent now," he
attests. "We have our own board of directors, our own budget, our own fundraising capability, and our own membership.
That was always the objective. When
you start an organization, you start with
nothing and initially rely on assistance.
Having the initial help and support from
the Texas Alliance was very helpful, but
at some point, we have to be able to walk
on our own, so to speak, then to run.
"We have been at that point for some
time now," he adds. "We are on the verge
of moving to an entirely new level."
The foundation also expects its independence to help win additional support
from other oil and gas associations, French
says. "Being perceived as independent
of any association helps to gain the support
of other associations," he says. "We view
this as a positive. We always have stressed
the importance of getting support from
other associations. We hope this will
make it more attractive to them to support
us in the future."
Attracting support from larger independents has been key, French continues.
"It's been important to show the industry that we have broad-based support,
and that includes support from the smallest
independents to the largest," he points
out. "By building that broad-based support,
we are building a comfort level for companies to provide additional support. The
more members we have, the more the
companies understand their support will
reflect the support given by other companies just like them. When that happens,
you develop critical mass. That is the
point we are at now."
The election of new board members
in November underscores the foundation's
growing appeal, French says. In addition
to Bole as chairman, new board members
are Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. Chairman
Dan O. Dinges and John Hofmeister, retired president of Shell Oil Co. and
founder of Citizens for Affordable Energy,
which is helping the foundation develop
The Hard Question.
Foundation Outreach
The state of Texas has no checkoff
program for oil and gas advocacy, so
French says the Foundation for Energy
Education relies on annual membership
dues-the amount is determined by levels
of company revenue-to fund its budget,
which totaled $410,000 in 2011.
"We have built a membership base of
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