06/27/07
In two front-page articles today, the Wall Street Journal is demonstrating its utter worthlessness.
I've already discussed the piece about the genesis of the subprime meltdown, which would have been a much greater public service had it been published a few months or a couple of years ago.
But then I read the article about how Exxon and Conoco will likely walk away from their projects in Venezuela rather than try to negotiate reasonable terms with the most unreasonable Hugo Chavez. In the third graf of a lengthy article that surveys the broader theme of resource nationalization in Venezuela, Russia, and elsewhere, we get this:
The companies feel they won't get adequate value from the Venezuelan government, so they may pursue arbitration rulings that, even if favorable, mean a long wait for compensation. But the need to replace significant holdings could intensify exploration and result in new finds elsewhere, as happened after the last widespread purge of Western majors from developing nations.
In the third graf, we get a subtle reminder that Peak Oil is nothing to worry about. Later on,
One response is to move aggressively to find opportunities in politically stable nations. The wave of nationalization that swept the Middle East in the 1970s led to the development of the giant fields in Alaska and Europe's North Sea. Conoco pursued a similar path by creating a joint venture to tap Canada's heavy-oil deposits, which hold enormous reserves of oil but are expensive to produce.
Don't worry, be happy.
No, I don't think this is some sort of media conspiracy to suppress discussion of Peak Oil. That's giving the media far more credit than it deserves. The fact of the matter is that most of the media is still in denial about Peak Oil, hence the soothing reassurances in panicked undertones that everything is OK.
Dave Gonigam
Treading a fine line between contrarian thinking and conspiracy theory, Dave Gonigam explores the nexus of finance, politics, and the media for Agora Financial's 5 Minute Forecast. He joined kindred spirits at Agora Financial in 2007 after a 20-year career as an Emmy award-winning writer, producer, and manager in local TV newsrooms nationwide.
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I have never even seen the Wall Street Journal, but I have read a lot about it here and elsewhere.
Yesterday I found out that the Journal is owned by Rupert Murdoch … and that’s all that anyone really needs to know about how much it should be trusted.
Long before Rupert’s empire became global and he dumped Australian citizenship, we in Australia were subject to his behind-the-scenes ruthlessness and egomania.
Now he struts the global stage and it is NOT paranoid to observe that indeed there is a “media conspiracy”, i.e. because, in fact, Murdoch owns such large chunks of all media.
My understanding is Murdoch has not yet purchased the WSJ.
Regardless, to suggest that particular piece of balanced reporting based on recent history (i.e., “could intensify exploration,” “heavy-oil deposits … but are expensive to produce”) is somehow evidence of denial borders on the old adage about “the pot calling the kettle ‘black’!”
There is indeed certainly plenty of ranting and denial about oil supplies, but the WSJ, kind sir, isn’t the source.