It’s a real-life horror show with an unfathomable mystery that has stumped public relations experts — why would BP continuously broadcast disturbing images of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico for all the world to see?
The sight of an ecological catastrophe unfolding in real time has gripped the public more than the series finale of “Lost” and worsened the public relations disaster for the British oil giant.
“It would be like Dick Cheney shooting his hunting partner and then putting the guy on television as he bleeds,” said Peter Ragone, owner of a West Coast p.r. firm.
VIDEO: SEE THE OIL SPILL LIVE FEED
“When the oil disaster response handbook is written, there’ll have to be a chapter entitled: ‘Whatever you do, don’t show video of the destruction of an ecosystem.’ ”
Media expert and author Michael Levine said, “It’s a terribly flawed decision that may have long-term consequences for the image of that company.”
BP had planned to pull the plug on the live stream yesterday but kept it going after pressure from Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
Markey argued that the public has a right to see what has befallen the environment.
BP didn’t return a call for comment.
The images have become so omnipresent that even when President Obama spoke about the historic spill yesterday, TV stations showed a split screen of Obama and the gushing oil.