Covering the green economy – The future of energy: Online, Nov. 16

After years of working to convince the government to expand offshore drilling, oil companies finally got the thumbs up.  So they dug in quick and began tapping deep inside the ocean to keep up with our country’s ever-expanding energy dependence.

The gulf oil disaster changed everything. The massive spill caused significant environmental damage and sent shock waves through the multiple industries and consumers who rely on the gulf for their livelihood. The fallout from the event, could rework the regulatory foundations in the oil industry and place added emphasis on utilizing sustainable methods of energy production.

Post spill, the energy industry – especially big oil – is at somewhat of a crossroads. It’s hard to know yet all the ramification of the spill on the energy industry, but we do know this: No matter where you are reporting from, the business of energy lurks somewhere in your community and its reach creates a rich pool of potential story ideas.

This Webinar will provide journalists with:

• A detailed backgrounder of the oil industry: how and where are fossil fuels extracted and why they remain the foundation of the global economy; who the main players are among oil companies, the national agencies that regulate them, and global organizations that band producing and consuming nations together. Also, a brief tour of what the zeitgeist is – in terms of what energy companies and regulators are looking at right now.
• An understanding of how energy production or consumption relate to local economies – not only at the pump, but also in terms of jobs and tax revenue generation, as well as environmental impact.
• Useful websites to gather local, national and global information about energy that can lead to ideas or help nail stories down.

YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Angel Gonzalez is Houston Bureau Chief for Dow Jones Newswires, where he helps lead the Newswires’ coverage of the global energy industry. He has written about OPEC, hurricanes, Big Oil companies, renewable energy and the BP oil spill for Dow Jones Newswires, WSJ.com and the Wall Street Journal. Previously he covered green energy and biotechnology for the Seattle Times, and worked as an oil reporter for Dow Jones. A native of Caracas, Venezuela, he’s a graduate of the University of Paris and obtained a master’s in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

This free seminar is sponsored by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism.

The Reynolds Center is funded by a grant from the Las Vegas, Nevada-based Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. Besides its workshops, the center runs BusinessJournalism.org, offering tips, training and resources for those who want to do a better job of covering business.

Please do not register unless you are sincere about participating in this online seminar and can do so for each day of the designated week. Those who successfully complete three regional workshops or online seminars presented by the Reynolds Center are eligible to receive a “Circle of Achievement” award certificate.