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Katie Ahlstrom
Writing Seminar
Catherine McMullen
Academic Paper: Press Releases
4/27/15
Crude Communications: An Analysis of BP Press Releases from the 2010 Oil Spill

On April 20th, 2010, The Gulf of Mexico never knew what hit it. Deepwater Horizon, a
petroleum drilling rig associated with the fuel company BP (formerly known as British
Petroleum) off the coast of Louisiana exploded, resulting in the immediate deaths of 11 workers
onboard. Caused by an unexpected surge of natural gas that somehow ignited, the explosion sank
the rig two days later and severely damaged a pipeline that extended almost 18,000 feet into a
natural oil reservoir. Inky black oil spewed uncontrollably from the reservoir for the next 87
days, causing severe damage to coastlines, the tourism industry, fishing industries, and marine
life. This disaster sent BP reeling, as they had to come up with a way to fix several problems.
According to Harlow & Harlow, BP faced at least two distinct problems: (a) how to correct
physical and environmental damage caused by the explosion and resulting oil spill and (b) how
to manage its public image (194).
Critics say that BPs public response to this crisis was, in itself, disastrous, as the
corporation may not have been as effective in their communication process as they could have.
In the process of managing their public image, BPs public relations team needed to organize a
working crisis communication plan quickly, and one of the first things they did was to begin
composing press releases as a means to communicate directly do their public by keeping them in
the loop with constant and critical updates.

Press Release History & Uses

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The press release, or news release, is a discrete unit of information that has traditionally
mediated between corporations, news media professionals, and the general reading public
(Wickman, 4). The press release was founded in 1906 when a man named Ivy Lee, who is known
as a legendary public relations expert, sent out the first ever press release to journalists.
According to a 2014 article by Charlotte Autzen, Lee worked with the Pennsylvania Railroad
and the background for writing up the press release was a deadly train accident killing 50
passengers. Lees idea was to be the rst to frame and thereby own a story before rumors
started to spread, and the journalists themselves started asking questions and reporting the story
(2). The New York Times took Lees press release and printed it word for word. This often
happens in todays news outlets because news media uses quotes from press releases to create
their own news stories. If an organization were to send a news outlet a pre-written press release
that looks much like a news story, they will oftentimes utilize them for their own informational
articles and to fill space. It has come to be known that an enduring part of public relations
involves delivering stories to news media, and this is very often accomplished through wellwritten press releases (Guth & Marsh, 37).
It has now become vital for corporations to have specialized staff in charge of managing
the companys communication strategies. Communications professionals working in public
relations are those who write and release press release content to the public. Public relations,
according to Charlotte Autzen, can be defined as the distinctive management function which
helps establish and maintain mutual lines of communication, acceptance and cooperation
between the organization and its publics (5).
In BPs case, the corporation needed to release news about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to
their public very quickly. Their public, in this case, consisted of almost everyone who wanted to

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read about the event: news outlets, legislators, other affected organizations, and the general
reading public. Because of this, BP needed to make the press releases as accessible as possible,
so they placed every single document on their website. According to critics, the corporations
response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico became a widespread source of debate as the
events panned out. Their communications response became an ongoing source of deliberation
due to the repetitive nature of the press releases they released. For instance, according to Chad
Wickman, press releases are an important means of creating and repairing or restoring corporate
image, since they are the documents most explicitly associated with issue framing and agenda
setting (4). However, BPs press releases sometimes did not adhere to the restoring corporate
image strategy. While BPs response to the oil spill may have seemed unimpressive to some, they
were consistent with their press release updates.

Analysis of BP Press Releases

On April 11th, 2010, BP issued their first press release in response to the Deepwater
Horizon explosion. Over the course of their response to the disaster (April 2010-September
2010), the organization released 128 press releases on their website via their online press page
(Harlow & Harlow, 195). Because press releases are supposed to project only the facts about an
event without bias so that news outlets can pick up the information and use it, the role of the
press release in the 2010 oil spill was intended to keep their public constantly informed with
recent updates and news.
Over the course of BPs crisis control efforts, the organization seemed to form their own
consistent written narrative over time. In Harlow & Harlows article Compensation and
Corrective Action as the BP Response to the Deepwater Horizon Incident, the researchers

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involved examined the role of the press releases in BPs crisis situations. They concluded that
their responses differed at various stages of the incident, meaning there was an evident shift in
BPs response pattern in the months following the event.
Beginning in April and May 2010, BPs press releases focused primarily on corrective
action over any other response. Overall, BP was attempting to communicate how they were
going to stop the reservoir from continuing to leak and how the cleanup process would be carried
out. However, the press releases from June, July, August, and September 2010 included BPs
response to compensation in addition to corrective action. Because so many organizations were
victims of financial loss and turmoil, BP was required to compensate them for their troubles.
Finally, the press releases from October 2010 and later focused chiefly on compensation to the
victims. The article mentions that, overall, More press releases described corrective action than
compensation each month, except June, when the balance was equally weighted between those
two strategies. This was the month in which President Obama delivered his first Oval Office
address and directly spoke to the situation in the Gulf (Harlow & Harlow, 197). Additionally,
BP stopped issuing press releases about the oil spill five and a half months following the
incident, meaning that press release coverage dwindled in October.
After analyzing many of the press releases on BPs website, it is clear these pattern shifts
do indeed exist. It is evident BP began focusing on corrective action as soon as the incident
occurred. On April 23rd, 2010, only two days after the explosion, BPs press release includes a
response relating to corrective action for the first time. The release itself is titled BP Initiates
Response to Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, and it quotes things such as BP today activated an
extensive oil spill response in the US Gulf of Mexico following the fire and subsequent sinking
of the Transocean Deepwater Horizon drilling rig (BP, 2010). This press release also stated they

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would be initiating a plan to drill a relief well, and it included a bulleted list naming the various
vessels mobilized to assist in correcting the damage. Key words in the writing of this press
release that seem to identify corrective response efforts include response, recovery,
resolve, and protect. This signifies BPs clear attempt to communicate their intentions to
correct the issue and to reverse the damage.
Beginning on May 5th, 2010, BP issued a series of Update on Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
Response press releases, signifying more response about corrective action. This series lasts
several months, however they focus primarily on solutions to the problem until June. The release
from May 5th announces that BP has stopped the flow of oil from one of the three existing leak
points, and they are continuing to make plans to completely solve the problem (BP, 2010).
June brought forth a shift in BPs public response to the oil spill. On June 15th, President
Obama issued an Oval Office Address in which he spoke directly to the oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico. Instead of focusing primarily on corrective action, the press releases started to bring in
updates on compensation to the victims. The literature from the month of June alternates from
articles discussing corrective action to articles discussing compensation, possibly to assure their
public that they were focused on both things at the same time. For example, a release issued on
June 16th, 2011, titled BP Establishes $20 Billion Claims Fund for Deepwater Horizon Spill and
Outlines Dividend Decisions mentions compensation. This press release is the first of its kind, as
it is the first one to officially discuss BPs plans to make regular payments to the government. In
their meeting with President Obama, BP agreed to make payments until they have reached $20
billion so as to satisfy legitimate claims including natural resource damages and state and local
response costs (BP, 2010). In this case, BPs press release is providing insight regarding their

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plans to compensate the government for having caused significant damage to the Gulf of
Mexico, its shorelines and marine life, and industries affected by the oil spill.
As stated in Harlow & Harlows article, June press releases represented both responses to
corrective action and responses to victim compensation. June 16th, 2010 is a good example of
this, as this day also features a press release regarding plans for further corrective action. The
release titled Additional Oil and Gas Containment System Begins Operation outlines BPs
progress on capping the oil reservoir to stop the flow of oil into the Gulf; this release assures the
public that action is still being taken.
Finally, the pattern of BPs press release response topics completely shifts to victim
compensation beginning in October. After approximately five and a half months, BP reduced the
number of press releases issued regarding the oil spill. For example, the October 1st issue reports
that BP pledged certain Gulf of Mexico assets as collateral for the $20 billion Deepwater
Horizon Oil Spill Trust (BP, 2010). This states that BP is still making efforts to make payments
to the government so as to compensate victims of the oil spill.
Harlow & Harlow were correct in the research regarding a shift in BPs response pattern
in regard to the oil spill. It is clear that BP began the process by communicating their plan to fix
the situation to the public in addition to their goal of repairing damage caused by the oil. This
communication is clear, and while the press releases were often repetitive, BP succeeded in
consistently issuing documents communicating the corporations intended actions whether they
were accurate or not. It later became clear after Obama issued his Oval Office Address that BP
shifted their response pattern to focus more on compensation to the victims of the incident. BP
agreed to make regular payments to the government so as to reimburse the financial losses that
occurred over time.

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Press Release Craft
In the realm of public relations, it is well known that press releases should follow a
consistent format so that representatives of the media can easily recognize the content. Those
who are familiar with journalism articles will recognize the format of press releases to be similar
to the inverted pyramid. The inverted pyramid, according to a 2003 article by Horst Pttker, is a
standardized form of journalism used in the case of hard news. The article states that Hard
news is commonly considered an especially objective form of reporting events, and it is only
true if the reporter refrains from adding their own judgments to the article. The inverted pyramid,
as it is, is not chronological, but rather it reports the news by reporting the most important
information first with a lead sentence and the answers to the five w-questions. After this comes
the rest of story which may already be redundant to the reader due to the accuracy of the first
paragraph (Pttker, 502). The reason for the inverted pyramid is to accommodate quick
readability in a style that can easily be shortened from the end so thatalways pressed for time
the journalist responsible is not obliged to undertake a time-consuming comprehensive reading
of the text when compiling a page (Pttker, 502).
Because the inverted pyramid is so successful in a journalism setting, and press releases
are generally geared toward news media outlets, it is also an effective way of composing press
releases. According to an article titled Learning from the Trades: Public Relations, Journalism,
and News Release Writing, it is recommended that authors writing press releases should adopt
the inverted pyramid style, using a good narrative with a beginning and an end, insert relevant
strong quotations, and keep it short, and Articles without a strong leadwould be discarded
and editors would move in to the next release on their desk (Parcell, Lamme & Cooley, 87).
This article emphasizes that, while a press release writer must follow the technical press release

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formatting, they are encouraged to use the inverted pyramid format when it comes to writing
content.
After an analysis of the formatting of the press releases issued by BP, it seems the writers
basically followed the inverted pyramid pattern, making the news content generally easy to
comprehend. Most begin with a strong lead using a basic claim. For example, the press release
issued on June 16th (mentioned previously) regarding BPs agreement to make $20 billion worth
of payments to the government, makes a primary claim: BP has agreed on a package of
measures to meet its obligations as a responsible party arising from the Deepwater Horizon spill
(BP, 2010). This is a strong lead that draws the attention of both news editors and readers of the
public. The lead also serves as the most important information in the inverted pyramid. This
press release goes on to list relevant details regarding the claim in a bulleted list such as BP will
initially make payments of $3bn in Q3 of 2010 and $2bn in Q4 of 2010. These will be followed
by a payment of $1.25bn per quarter until a total of $20bm has been paid in (BP, 2010). While
the bulleted list does not necessarily follow basic news format, it still organizes important
information in an easy-to-read format. Finally, the press releases concludes with further details
and includes quotes from BP officials. For example, the June 16th release mentions the
consequences should BP fail to make payments, responses from the BP board, and a quote from
Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg. This article follows basic press release format by including the
most important information first (the lead) and following with the lesser-important supporting
details about the topic at hand. It is clear that the majority of the press releases issued by BP in
response to the oil spill follow a similar inverted format.
The BP Corporation was in trouble when the unexpected oil spill occurred in 2010. While
they may have been unprepared with a crisis communication plan, BP still made an effort to

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communicate their intentions to fix the problem as soon as the incident occurred. Critics say that
BP could have done a better job at responding to the crisis, however their press release strategy
states otherwise. Some press releases may appear repetitive and superficial to some, but it was
more beneficial to the company to release well formatted, unbiased and factual news content
instead of forgoing it altogether. BP developed a press release strategy that matured over time,
and it is arguable that BPs efforts were successful.

Works Cited

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Autzen, Charlotte. "Press Releases -- the New Trend in Science Communication." JCOM:
Journal of Science Communication 13.3 (2014): 1-8. Print.
BP. BP Press Office. BP Initiates Response to Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill. BP. N.p., 21 Apr. 2010.
Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
BP. BP Press Office. BP Establishes $20 Billion Claims Fund for Deepwater Horizon Spill and
Outlines Dividend Decisions. BP. BP, 16 June 2010. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
BP. BP Press Office. BP Pledges Collateral for Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill Trust. BP. BP, 01 Oct.
2010. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
Bremner, Stephen. "Genres and Processes in the PR Industry: Behind the Scenes with an Intern
Writer." Journal of Business Communication 51.3 (2014): 259-78. Print.
Harlow, William Forrest, and Rachel Martin Harlow. "Compensation and Corrective Action as
the BP Response to the Deepwater Horizon Incident." Communication Research Reports
30.3 (2013): 193-200. Print.
Parcell, Lisa Mullikin, Margot Opdycke Lamme, and Skye Chance Cooley. "Learning from the
Trades: Public Relations, Journalism, and News Release Writing, 1945-2000." American
Journalism 28.2 (2011): 81-111. Print.
Pottker, Horst. "News and its Communicative Quality: The Inverted Pyramid--when and Why
did it Appear?" Journalism Studies 4.4 (2003): 501. Print.

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Wickman, Chad. "Rhetorical Framing in Corporate Press Releases: The Case of British
Petroleum and the Gulf Oil Spill." Environmental Communication 8.1, 3-20 (2014): 3. Print.