“I like them. Run them all.”
“We’ll start to schedule these ads right away, Mr. Stalinksy. Will there be anything else?” The ad person was gathering his notes.
“Yes. Actually there is,” said Bob. “We need a press release pronto about our application to the NRC for a new operating license. One of your in-house crackerjack writers is what I want.”
ALLPower wanted to extend their operating license to keep the plant running for twenty more years. The NRC application would take at least four years, and Bob had no doubt that the opposition would rally.
They would advertise heavily, and even the slightest plant mishap would be played down in the news.
A week later, when the new young reporter Owen just hired to replace Lou opened his e-mail, he saw the ALLPower press release. He buzzed Owen and asked him if he wanted to run it.
“Sure, it’s news, right? Not just a puff story?”
Owen knew he would have to spoon-feed the young man, but the kid was working for almost nothing. He did what he was told and didn’t give Owen any guff.
“It sure is news, Mr. Marks. Should I get responses from the anti-nukers who are against keeping the plant open?”
Owen paused and thought about all the new ads ALLPower had just taken out in the paper with their flashy new slogan. “Nah. Just rewrite the release to make it sound like a news story. That should do it.”
Chapter 47
Stella peeked into Bob’s room to empty his garbage and saw his open suitcase. It was half filled. Seems her son had decided to leave. He’d had enough.
“So be it.” She glanced around the room. Stacked on the small desk were a bunch of glossy white-and-blue folders with the ALLPower logo on the front. She gingerly picked up one and opened it. It was the entire PR campaign, including cost and target audiences. A seven-page glossary listed key words to use with the press, when talking about dangerous leaks or security issues. Three additional pages labeled “Confidential” outlined how to deal with activists, and there was a spreadsheet of costs for bloggers and writers who would wage a nonstop war of words against anti-nuke groups. Stella folded the corner of the page as a marker.
Bob’s name was all over the packet. He was clearly the brains behind the entire campaign. The go-to man. Despite her feelings about her son’s employer, she was impressed. It was a comprehensive piece of work, and she wanted to read every word. She slipped the folder under her arm and went to brew herself a fresh cup of coffee.
An hour later she turned on her computer. Becoming computer literate was a process Stella initially shunned, but Bob had tutored her during the few times they were getting along. She quickly became cyber savvy, driven by her need to read more news online, another source for her news fix. Newspapers were floundering, ethics were being compromised. Writers for major newspapers frequently declined to cite their sources, something that irked her big-time. Maybe reporters online were more accurate? Maybe good writers like Lou Padera would end up as a popular cyber byline, someone who could actually write something decent.
Stella placed the ALLPower folder next to her computer. She logged on and searched for the new anti-nuclear coalition formed after the evacuation debacle. What was her name? Diana someone?
The group, Coalition for Safe Power, had a straightforward website that was easy to navigate. There was a ton of information and a comprehensive timeline of the plant’s history, including all accidents and mishaps since the plant broke ground about 40 years ago. There were clear links and a long list of contact information.
Stella reached for the phone and called one of the numbers. The phone rang three times, and finally a woman answered. Stella looked over at the white-and-blue folder. “Hi, Ms. Chase? My name is Stella. I’d like to volunteer to work for your organization. Yes. Really. And Ms. Chase. I may have something of interest to show you. Yes. I’d love to meet you whenever you can. What’s my last name? Stalinsky.”
Chapter 48
The geologist read the last page of the new study that tracked thirty years of seismic activity in and around the Hudson River. The study was researched by scientists connected with a local university, and all of them were required to sign off on the final document before making it public. He scrawled his name at the bottom of the list, picked up the phone, and called the university’s media department.
“Study is good to go,” he said.
The press person, Simon Frank, wrote up a straightforward release, stunning for its omission of the devastating disaster still crippling Japan.
The lab’s seismic study was posted to the department’s website, where it was ignored for about a week until a reporter named Lou Padera called.
“Mr. Frank? Lou Padera here. I cover nuclear power and want to write a story about your report. Can you line up a few scientists for me to interview?”
“Sure thing, Mr. Padera. You’re the first one to call.”
“You’re kidding. But this is a big story. You know that, right?”
“I guess.”
Lou had floundered for a while after he was fired from the Daily Suburban. He and Diana pondered his future, and she encouraged him to keep writing. He finally realized he could write about sports and nuclear power on the Internet. He hired someone to create his own news website called Padera’s Top News and Sports.
It was just like old times. Lou covered local games, wrote them up, and posted them before the Daily Suburban came out the next morning. Because his sports stories had been so popular in the paper, he had cultivated a following, and the site had thousands of hits each week. It was a stat that attracted advertisers, many who had placed their ads on the same page as Lou’s stories in the newspaper. Sure, they’d put ads on his website. Why not? It was cheaper than the newspaper, where their ads now were squished in between several full-blown ALLPower ads.
Lou regularly scoured the news and sought out links with information about nuclear power, not only ALLPower, but about plants in nearby states as well.
After the Japanese nuclear crisis, he especially tracked studies on seismic activity, frequently checking the websites for geological labs, especially the one studying the Hudson River area. When the study was finally completed, Lou was surprised at the bland, un-newsy press release. But he grasped the impact. After interviewing two scientists who authored the new study, Lou had a story that put a smile on his face. Let’s see Bob Stalinsky put a positive spin on this one.
“You’re not going to believe this,” he excitedly told Diana while helping her get dinner on the table at her house.
“Were you really the first reporter to call? I bet you’ll scoop everyone.” She beamed at him.
“I know. It’s amazing. Do you know what this means?”
“Another reason to shut down the plant?”
“Yes. Perhaps. If they connect the dots with the Japanese earthquake that shut down those plants. But the NRC doesn’t even look at seismic records, even when rubber-stamping a nuke’s operating license.”
His eyes penetrated hers. They saw the same roadblock.
“Yikes. That’s scary,” she said.
“Yeah. Hope everyone realizes that.”
“They will. After your story.”
It was a new kind of intimacy, discussing his stories with her over breakfast or while falling to sleep. He started spending the night at her place more and more, making up for the now solitary workday in his makeshift home office. He worried about her and the possible fallout at school, if teachers got wind of their experimental escapade. But so far, it never happened. If they knew, her friends at school were being polite and keeping quiet.