The objective of this award is to inform the public about the science and engineering research that is being conducted to determine the scope and impact of the Gulf oil spill. In response to the this environmental disaster facing the U.S., NSF has funded numerous RAPID awards to send scientists and engineers to the Gulf to research the impact of the spill. MacNeil Lehrer Productions, producer of the PBS NewsHour, will report on this research that is ongoing as a result of the unanticipated and disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The PBS NewsHour team of experienced producers and correspondents will produce at least nine segments for broadcast, along with extensive material for online. All the stories will revolve around scientists and engineers and the work they are doing in the Gulf in response to the spill. The online material will include blogs and additional web-only video reports that will deliver content to augment broadcast coverage. The NewsHour will encourage user engagement through regular posting of stores on social media outlets, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, UStream and Disqus, to help the reporting on the oil spill go viral. The online/on-air correspondent Hari Sreenivasan will conduct web-exclusive interviews with scientists on the forefront of the Gulf research. The NewsHour Extra, the website that reaches 200,000 educators per month, will post the science coverage on the Daily Video Clip Tool, which provides educators resources and lesson plans to help initiate discussions with students about the science, environmental and engineering issues raised by the rapidly-changing story. The new Student Reporting Lab project will locate classrooms in Louisiana to contribute original, youth-focused reporting on the oil spill when school opens in August. The NewsHour will coordinate efforts with PBS stations located in the Gulf to create a synergy and extend the usefulness and life of these efforts.
The reach of the PBS NewsHour is significant. The national daily broadcast delivers an audience of approximately 1.1 million viewers. The NewsHour public radio broadcasts reach an average of 63,000 listeners daily across the nation. Outside the U.S., the PBS NewsHour television broadcast is available on the American Forces Television to more than 800,000 military and State department personnel around the world. In addition, audiences across Canada, Australia, Japan and Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America tune into the service via various channels and satellite services. The Online NewsHour visitor numbers exploded in May 2010 to 5+ million monthly pageviews and 1.5+ million unique visitors. The NewsHour Extra website, which targets educators, will provide resources for classroom teachers to discuss the science, environmental and engineering issues raised by the spill. The proposed Student Reporting Lab promises an innovative new addition to the outreach efforts to engage young people in directly reporting on the oil spill and the impact on their communities. The deliverables produced under this award will be consolidated on the NewsHour website (www.pbs.org/newshour) where they will create a permanent record of this critical research for the general public.
After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill first happened, people were frustrated by how long it took to stop the flow, and skeptical of information being released by either the industry or the government. The PBS NewsHour felt that it was crucial to cover the scientific research being conducted after the spill so that the general public had a better understanding of what was actually happening, and of the critical role scientists and engineers were playing both in determining the impact and in finding solutions. To this end, using the NSF’s Rapid Grant, the PBS NewsHour went to laboratories and into the field to see researchers at work. We reported on engineers and scientists as they struggled to shut off the flow; as they looked at ways to locate and measure the oil in the water; as they tested the effectiveness of microbe-eating bacteria; as they analyzed the impact of the use of dispersants; and as they examined the long-lasting effects of both oil and dispersant on fish and other species. In all, we interviewed 34 researchers and 12 government officials, as we produced 15 mini-documentary style tape pieces, 13 studio discussions often accompanied by short setup tapes, and 58 online exclusives. The website included streaming video of our broadcast segments, as well as blogs, updates, slideshows, interactives and graphics, all featured on a specially designed oil page—as well as being spotlighted on our main page. The continuing centerpiece of our online effort was an oil widget, which streamed live video of the spill accompanied by a meter that allowed people to estimate the amount of oil spilled. That widget alone attracted 14 million views and was picked up by hundreds of other sites. On our EXTRA page for educators and students, we featured stories written for teens about the oil eating microbes, the effect of dispersants, the storage of oil waste, and the process of rehabilitating wildlife. All of these articles were accompanied by questions for discussion, as well as suggested activities. We also had a special lesson plan written about capping and cleaning an oil spill. In total, PBS NEWSHOUR oil coverage has generated more than 20 million content views on our main site with countless more on YouTube, Facebook, and other social media. Our oil page continues to attract often as many as 10- 20,000 views per week. The online content is a finalist for a National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy award. As promised, In order for our work to have a broader, broader impact, all our material has been archived at www.pbs.org/newshour/news/gulfcoast/ One can also follow these links to our broadcast work: TAPES Scientists Probe Ocean Depths for Answers (6/30/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june10/science_06-30.html Oil-Eating Microbes (7/8/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/video/blog/2010/07/researchers_examine_microbes_o.html Wildlife Update from Gulf (7/15/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec10/wildlife_07-15.html Cap Holds Steady (7/16/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec10/oil_07-16.html Rock Berms: Feds vs State (7/21/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec10/oil_07-21.html Are Dispersants Safe? (7/22/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/video/blog/2010/07/oil_dispersants_toxic_or_not.html Closeup Look: Discoverer Enterprise (8/2/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec10/oil_08-02.html Oil Gone? (8/5/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec10/oil_08-05.html Oil Waste (8/11/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec10/oil_08-11.html Seafood testing (8/13/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec10/seafood_08-13.html Oil Spill Draws New Attention to Coastal Erosion (9/22/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec10/erosion_09-22.html Fish Larvae (12/31/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec10/fish_12-31.html Testing of Oysters Continues 1/7/11 www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/jan-june11/oysters_01-07.html A Year after BP Oil Spill Began, No Easy Answers (4/15/11) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/jan-june11/oilspill_04-15.html Aftermath of Gulf Oil Spill (4/21/11) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/jan-june11/photoessay_04-21.html STUDIO SEGMENTS Hurricane Alex Could Disrupt Cleanup (6/30/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/jan-june10/oil2_06-30.html BP Works to Install New Cap (7/12/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec10/oil_07-12.html Oil Gusher Halted for Now (7/15/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec10/oil_07-15.html Carol Browner Interview (7/19/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec10/oil2_07-19.html What's in the Gulf Waters? (7/28/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec10/oildisper_07-28.html BP Starts Static Kill (8/3/11) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec10/oildiscu_08-03.html Argument about Amount of Oil Left (8/4/11) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec10/oilreport_08-04.html Oil Plume? (8/19/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec10/oil_08-19.html Thad Allen Interview: How Clean is Clean? (9/21/10) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec10/bp_09-20.html Oil Spill Hearings (11/8/11) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec10/bp_11-08.html Environmental Questions Persist Post Gulf (12/31/11) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec10/oilspill2_12-31.html Oil Disaster Report Preview 1/6/11 www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/jan-june11/oil_01-06.html Perils of Deepwater Drilling (4/21/11) www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/jan-june11/oilspillbook_04-21.html
