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NBC Refuses Pickens Plan Ad

by: Paul Killinger August 29, 2008 | about stocks: CLNE / GE / UNG    

Paul Killinger

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T. Boone Pickens is up in arms over NBC's decision not to run one of his new TV ads promoting the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel, and an alternative to importing expensive foreign oil. In an e-mail to supporters Mr. Pickens is quoted as saying, "NBC is refusing to run one of our strongest ads, and I need your help in showing NBC they can't control what we can or cannot say."

The new 15-second TV spot, entitled "Iran is Changing Its Cars to Run on Natural Gas," calls attention to this development by this OPEC member country. In the ad Mr. Pickens is pictured saying, "Get this one. Iran is changing its cars to run on natural gas and we're not doing a thing here." His website says NBC wants him to "prove" the words, "we're not doing a thing here." The website states that all other TV networks have accepted the ad for airing.

Perhaps this confrontation between this Texas billionaire entrepreneur and TV network is much ado about nothing. Or maybe it's more than that. It is difficult to imagine this was simply a decision by some mid-level TV executive, and it was not approved by the head office of NBC. It also comes at a time when General Electric (GE), which owns NBC, and CEO Jeff Immelt are under fire from shareholders for the giant company's lackluster financial performance. A public fight between a popular advertiser and NBC is the last thing he needs.

It will be interesting to see if NBC relents and runs the ad in question. Many Pickens Plan site bloggers are incensed by this snub, which some attribute to NBC's political bias or a conflict of interest by GE, which manufactures components for nuclear reactors and natural gas turbines for public utilities. However, since Mr. Pickens has ordered $2 billion of equipment from GE to operate his proposed wind farms, it is likely NBC's parent company will step in to diffuse this slight to one of their major customers before it escalates any further.

Disclosure: none 

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This article has 51 comments:

  •  
    Aug 29 06:50 AM
    GE is a disgusting stock, and NBC is a disgusting network.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 07:39 AM
    I think the post above is correct, to which I would add that T. Boone Pickens matches and raises those two corporate slugs in terms of disgust factor.

    I wholeheartedly recommend Pick's plan to unite Americans in the worthy fight to unshackle our economy from foreign energy suppliers, something "we" as a complacemt and selfish nation failed to initiate between 1973 and the present.

    And yet Pick played a sleazy and substantive role in 'electing' the ultimately ineffective and unimaginative chief executive. Pick pertetrated the swiftboating of our nation into additional years of retrograde action on the energy independence front.

    Now he tries to assume the role of uniter and energy dependence savior? A sudden change in values and purpose? I don't buy it. Pick earned his stripes as a divider and as perpetrator of the lowest common denominator of disinformation in public discourse.

    The mantle of leader and motivator doesn't fit the man.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 08:00 AM
    The politicians are doing nothing. Why not support T. Boone, as his plan is the only thing I see that is logical, and will work. Even Nancy Pelosi has bought into the Clean Energy Fuel stock, as the concept can't be ignored as to it's practicality. This will work, and in the end it really doesn't matter who proposed it, does it? Why continue to shoot ourselves in the foot, just because of some political dogma? This is the mistake we have made so many times in the past, and is largely responsible for us being in the mess we're in. 'Respirate' would have us ignore what works, because of something that happened 8 years ago in a political campaign. How is that even relevant?
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 08:02 AM
    Actually, the move by NBC (GE) is simply a continuation of the media censorship of REAL energy policy ideas. I cannot get my energy policy:

    thefitzman.blogspot.co...

    published anywhere. The WSJ and Barron's have each turned me down (twice). I don't pretend the policy I developed is perfect, but I do know it is light years better than what we have now, which is nothing but an oil centric policy with mandated ethanol that is causing food inflation. Why, in light of $120/barrel oil, $4/gasoline, raging inflation, and an S&P500 that has returned less than 2.6% annually for the last 10 years do the leading "financial" media not want to solve our biggest challenge: oil? Throw in how the US is intentionally strengthening Russia, Sauid, Iran, and Iraq and you really have to wonder what in hell is going on. It is maddening. By the way, NBC did finally approve the Pickens ad, but only AFTER Pickens sent this email out to his "army":

    A message to all members of PickensPlan Army: NBC is refusing to run one of our strongest ads, and I need your help in showing NBC they can't control what we can or cannot say. The 15-second ad talks about how the government of Iran is making a MAJOR effort to use natural gas in their vehicles so they can free up $120 a barrel oil to sell to us while we are doing nothing. I need you to click on the link, watch the ad, then send it to five of your friends. Please ask each of those five people to send it on to five of THEIR friends. This is important. Let me know what you think: www.pickensplan.com/ne.../ --T. Boone Pickens Visit PickensPlan at: push.pickensplan.com
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 08:28 AM
    WHETHER YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH MR. PICKENS PLAN AT LEAST IT'S A PLAN.OUR DEMOCRATICALLY CONTROLLED CONGRESS WHICH PROMISED CHANGE HAS DONE NOTHING ABOUT ANYTHING, PARTICULARLY OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.NBC AND GE SHOULD TAKE A LOOK AT THE IMAGE THEY ARE PROJECTING,NOT GOOD.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 08:34 AM
    It's about the liberal news media controlling what we need to hear and hearing about more drilling is not in their interest. Liberals don't want more drilling. So T. Boone if you want more natural gas you better support getting rid of alot of liberal democratic politician's in congress and senate. And support politician's who want to drill and slow the wealth abroad.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 08:40 AM
    T. Boone Pickens Comments on Oil and Yahoo!
    kirklindstrom.blogspot...
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 08:50 AM
    It appears that hot air trumps natural gas in the Democratic-controlled congress and is fanned by its mouthpiece NBC.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 08:55 AM
    This is outrageous. I wrote to GE Investor relations, CNBC, and my local NBC affilaite. Tell GE you are a shareholder.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 09:08 AM
    "The new 15-second TV spot, entitled "Iran is Changing Its Cars to Run on Natural Gas," calls attention to this development by this OPEC member country. "

    More on Iran.

    www.prosefights.org/nm...

    And a bogus court order stealing $22,036 of our money.

    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 09:08 AM
    Pickens and Buffett are players in the next bubble-alternative energy. Buffett is soothing the investors to keep money in the market and Pickens is setting the stage for a boom in alternative energy stocks.

    For the moment this is the last opportunity on wall street. Everyone from the new president elect is in on this. Why do you think that the alternative energy bill has not been passed? Watch these stocks start to move after the third quarter. Buy the dips in this volitilty.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 09:20 AM
    Energy independence should not be a partisan issue, despite the fact that the current administration was 100% negligent in failing to make this a national security priority after 9/11. That said, Gore is correct that America needs to use its natural gas for power generation that can fuel electric cars that cause less pollution than using this fuel directly for transportation uses (just b/c Iran is doing it, doesn't make me think that it necessarily the way to go). Let's face it, whether McCain or Obama are in the Whitehouse, the issues related to climate change and carbon capture are going to be addressed as part of our energy security, and if Mr. Pickens wants to be a part of that discussion, then more power to him!
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 09:28 AM
    For those of you decrying the new Democratic Congress, the Senate is in a dead tie between the two parties, unless you include Lieberman in the Democratic camp on all legislation, which he is not. As it takes 60 votes or more for cloture to bring a bill up for vote, the "Democratic Congress" has seen every potential vote on energy, which has incidentally inlcuded provisions for expanded drilling, road blocked by the Republicans eight times this year alone. By the way, McCain has voted against any renewable incentives over 25 times and has never voted for it. So grid lock is a more accurate description of the current situation, and when it comes to energy legislation, grid lock is directly attibutable to the Republicans. The Democrats will offer the grand compromise on off shore drilling in exchange for renewables incentives and new regulation on oil futures trading. Remember that Bush who never weilded a veto during six years of Republican controlled legislation, has made it clear he will veto the Democrat bill anyway without Anwar in the mix, so again, the so called Democratic Congress would be ten votes short in the Senate from over-riding. So count to 100, divide by two and rant on about the Democratic Congress doing nothing.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 09:52 AM
    jcordes, isn't it amazing when the shoe is on the other foot! When the Democrats stall things in a "Republican" Congress ( including drilling, refineries, nuclear, etc., , the Congress is deemed "do nothing"; when it happens the other way around, it's "gridlock" from those bad old Republicans.

    Dontcha just love double standards!?!
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 10:01 AM
    GE is not an American Company any more! Jeff Immelt needs to retire!
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 10:13 AM
    www.dcexaminer.com/opi...

    "The basic story amounts to this: Pickens, thanks to favors from state lawmakers whose campaigns he funded, has created a new government whose only voters are two of his employers; this has empowered Pickens to more cheaply pump water from an aquifer and, by use of eminent domain, seize land across 11 counties in order to pipe the water to Dallas. To win environmentalist approval of this hardly “sustainable” practice, he has piggybacked this water project onto a windmill project pitched as an alternative to oil."
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 10:29 AM
    As is the problem with most conspiracy theories, the one about Boone Pickens selling water is short on facts and long on ardor. To begin with, he's an oil man, not a water man. The last time I looked, BP Capital had investments in dozens of ENERGY companies, not WATER companies. That doesn't mean he doesn't own some water, billionaires make lots of different investments. Finally, if there's so much money to be made in water stocks, I'd suggest YOU invest in them. There are plenty available at cheap prices.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 10:39 AM
    And just think of all the stories you could make up about Warren Buffett. Unlike Boone Pickens, he owns a wide range of companies he's purchased in numerous industries. You could claim he's trying to gain control of the insurance industry, municipal bond underwriting, or even casual dining. Give me a break, will you please.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 11:04 AM
    Please, Please PLEASE, Congress don't "do" ANYTHING about Energy. Except of course, GET OUT OF THE WAY!! Every time government "does" something about a problem, the problem worsens or creates even greater problems. Look at most of our most pressing problems: they are either PERSONALLY self inflicted (divorce, unwed parents, drug addiction, chronic unemployment, obesity, diabetes, lack of education despite education being available for free) OR government caused: lack of drilling leading to foreign oil dependence; stubbornly blocking nuclear energy leading to foreign oil dependence; government subsidized burning of food for energy (corn) leading to global food inflation and starvation; destroyed inner city schools due to government protected unions in control; lack of school choice for the poor due to the same unions; government funded public housing (drug and crime hell-holes); confiscatory tax rates leading to lack of investment in just about everything (energy, infrastructure, jobs, growth); government spending every cent of social secuity receipts instead of saving it; needless foreign wars; the list of government funded depredations against the our citizens GOES ON AND ON AND ON. The BEST thing possible for our country would be for government to return to being efficient and limited, that is, back to its original constitutional purpose of law and order, and leaving the citizens alone, including their money. Thank you. PS, you pay 50% of your income in taxes. If you don't believe that, add it up. Obama wants it to be 80%. McCain wants it to be 60%. Not much difference.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 11:38 AM
    Here, here!
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 11:50 AM
    I don't understand why everyone is so upset about Congress. Don't you know how many post offices they have renamed? It's in record territory, and I think that deserves recognition!
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 12:19 PM
    America, land of the free, strick that, land of special interests and freedom be damed.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 01:19 PM
    johnboy - there are a lot of Repulicans AND Democrats that have done nothing about alternatives to oil/NG for 40 years. Both own this.

    And, there are many conservatives that are also against drill, drill, drill.
    Some of us look beyond the end of our nose without blinders.

    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 01:32 PM
    .*. - YOU'RE MY MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...

    SMALLER GOV'T!!!!!!!!
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 01:39 PM
    funny how the Republicans held Congress for six years with a Republican president and they did every single thing that George W. Bush asked them to and the Democrats went right along with them. We had bipartisanship, and the oil companies reaped HUGE, H-U-G-E profits.
    We could've had an energy policy but Vice President Dick Cheney had PRIVATE meetings with oil executives and refused to release ANY information about those meetings to the public. Now we find ourselves up a huge stump over a complete lack of an energy policy and some idiots on this site want to blame the libruls for the whole mess.
    People are hurting all over this country over the price of gasoline and the Republicans and their sheeple think that drilling in ANWAR and offshore is a solution to the problem whereas it will be, at a minimum, ten years before this can have ANY effect and then only a very short term one.
    Our problems are big and they will require a plan by the federal government to deal with them. We have been royally screwed by the Republicans and their Corporate masters. Too bad some people think that government can only make matters worse, whereas sometimes, sometimes, government is very necessary to deal with problems. The need for an nuanced energy policy to help this country get back to being the vibrant nation is one of the most urgent needs we have.
    I do not know if the Democrats, if they actually get a functioning majority in the Senate and a president who can walk and chew gum at the same time will bring about what we need but it's about damn time we sit them down on the hot seat and see what they're made of.

    And if they don't do it we'll vote those bums out of office in '10 and '12.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 01:42 PM
    What government proposals, much less actions, have had a direct and overwhelming effect on the most recent trend in energy availability and pricing, or over the short term, or over the intermediate term, or over the long term?
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 02:13 PM
    Farehnder - get real - this is and has been a 40 year problem; both sides of Govt; and all sides involved, including the selfish consumer and selfish Detroit to Houston.

    The policy we've had of burning other peoples oil/gas and less of our own, was and is good policy.

    We failed on policy/action to eliminate the use of both of the above.

    Here, our policy was/is to satisfy an itch (for all involved) with the love for the ICE (SUV's included) and WAIT till the consumer was/is fed up with high priced energy - which we're approaching, for some.

    AND THEN, WE'RE GOING TO DRILL, DRILL, DRILL MORE OF THE SAME TO SATISFY THAT ITCH, INSTEAD OF ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR IT - NOW THAT IS DUMB.

    BUT, STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES. OR WAS IT STUPID DOES AS STUPID IS?
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 03:04 PM
    This has nothing to do with politics and has everything to do with GE's position in terms of making billions of dollars worth of nuclear energy related parts and systems !! If either party (DEMS or GOP) has an idea superior to Boone Picken's plan, then let's hear it now !!!!!
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 05:32 PM
    Duh! Boones plan is not new. What's new is a LEADER!!
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 05:35 PM
    I should have said Boone's idea and plan is not superior; it's the LEADER that makes the difference. For instance: Hitler, .......,







    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 05:42 PM
    And in DC, it's real LEADERSHIP that's missing .....whether creating POLICY or ROADBLOCKS, which are one in the same, in DC.

    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 07:29 PM
    THANKS TO ALL COMMENTORS,YOUR POINTS ARE WELL TAKEN AND I READ EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM.A CLOSING THOUGHT,"I'M FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND I'M HERE TO HELP"ATTRIBUTED TO RONALD REGAN.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 29 10:45 PM
    You get the leaders you elect! Unfortunately you can fool most of the people most of the time.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 30 01:16 AM
    Actually, we do not get to select who we would like to vote for!!!!!!!! Open your eyes.

    What may be true is we get what we deserve.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 30 01:28 AM
    Come on "BADDER FASTER"!!!

    If we do that (which at this point either or both parties may be able to do eqully well), and IF we then get some real LEADERSHIP, we eventually could see "BETTER SOONER" - but that won't happen the way things are going today; BADDER is guaranteed. And BADDER FASTER may be better - so vote Dem; because voting Rep is only going to be the "promise" of better with drill, drill, drill which is not the correct answer once past your nose' it is just more BADDER.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 30 08:07 AM
    One more comment. I wish we as a people would not panic about energy cost. Yes, it is going up, and that is not good. But it is not terrible either. It is just normal, like growing old, and sometimes getting a cold. It happens. When goods and services get scarcer, their prices rise. (Thought experiment: What would happen if their prices did not rise?) For instance....when whale oil prices rose at the turn of the last century, guess what happened? People went looking for alternatives. When they found it in the ground, whaling became an enterprise of the past. Lamps burned oil and a new era was formed. Government had nothing to do with the successful transition--it was all done by citizens in their roles as engineers, businessmen and women, and entrepreneurs. The depletion of oil truly represents nothing more dramatic than a transition: a transition from liquid oil extraction to all of the following: Nuclear ($30), gas ($30), wind ($100), membrane bioreactor (waste gas capture) ($100), shale ($120), oil sands ($100), coal gasification ($90), geothermal ($200), conservation ($50 and up). By the way, those numbers represent the price of oil at which those technologies become competitive with oil in a big way. Guess what happens when oil permanently reaches those prices? Absent government inteference, entrepreneurs will build new industries and make lots of money (as they should) supplying those sources of energy. All of those sources except shale and sands are very, very environmentally friendly. If you are a friend of the environment, you should pray, PRAY for the depletion of oil, because it will cause us to transition in an orderly fashion to nuclear, geo, wind, & membranes (no CO2 emissions). So everyone, please don't panic about energy. Panic only if the government gets involved doing anything other than leveling the playing field (pollution control) and honoring contracts. If it begins taxing and spending, predicting winners and loser, promoting an "industrial policy", look out. We will be in trouble. By the way, consider some benefits of higher gas prices: less driving, CO2, gas guzzlers, sulfur, NOX emissions, highway deaths/injuries, hospital visits, suburban sprawl, etc. More trains, stay-home vacations, family time, electric cars, hybrids, conservation, etc, etc. To summarize, increasing gas prices cause us to use less of a noxious, dwindling resource (good), and cause entrepreneurs and investors and engineers and business people to vigorously create profitable alternatives (good). If the government will get out of the way, in 100 years we will be talking about "drilling" the same way we we now talk about "whaling".
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 30 12:00 PM
    .*. Hydro, wood, coal, biofuels and solar and were not priced in you work-up. Animal power, "ancient" farm windmills and tidal are also missing.

    I'm not sure putting conservation on the source side is valid.

    And further, you just proved that we should tax energy as Europe, et.al.. has to drive the US to conserve, electric trains, small cars, electrric delivery vans, scooters, much insulation, district heating; and co-generation, more hydro, more nuclear, more wind, more solar; and less drill, drill, drill and less dig, dig, dig.

    Bottom line - create change thru taxation, not stupid policy, lobbiests, selfishness and graft.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 30 12:05 PM
    And furthermore, taxation or lack of it (tax breaks, subsidies, R&D credits, depletion allowances, etc.,) is exactly how we favor oil, gas, coal, nuc, hydro, biofuels, etc., and we are refusing to do the same for wind and solar which are the only two really free energy, renewable, forever energy sources in the list.
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 30 12:06 PM
    Problem is: policy setters are controlled by their selfish needs, lobbiests, and whomever is paying the lobbiests; THEY ARE NOT REAL LEADERS!!!
    Reply
  •  
    Aug 31 11:00 PM
    only if NBC was as diligent about the news both political parties put out...
    Reply
  •  
    Sep 02 02:42 PM