Range Resources Uses Military "Psy-Ops" to Counter Pennsylvania Drilling Opponents

Susan Phillips

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Susan Phillips tells stories about the consequences of political decisions on people's every day lives. She has worked as a reporter for WHYY since 2004. Susan's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election resulted in a story on the front page of the New York Times. In 2010 she traveled to Haiti to cover the earthquake. That same year she produced an award-winning series on Pennsylvania's natural gas rush called "The Shale Game." She received a 2013 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Journalism Award for her work covering natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania. She has also won several Edward R. Murrow awards for her work with StateImpact. In 2013/14 she spent a year at MIT as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow. She has also been a Metcalf Fellow, an MBL Logan Science Journalism Fellow and reported from Marrakech on the 2016 climate talks as an International Reporting Project Fellow. A graduate of Columbia School of Journalism, she earned her Bachelor's degree in International Relations from George Washington University.

November 8, 2011 | 6:23 PM

CNBC obtained tape of several gas drilling executives encouraging military tactics to counter anti-drilling activists and control the message in Pennsylvania. On one segment, Range Resources spokesman Matt Pitzarella says the company has decided to become more involved in Pennsylvania communities.

“…we have several former “psy-ops” folks that work for us here at Range because they’re very comfortable in dealing with localized issues and local governments,” said Pitzarella at an industry conference held in Houston last week.

On tape, Pitzarella is heard saying the military “psy-ops” specialists mostly help write local ordinances. He says they developed their techniques in the Middle East.
Pitzarella tells State Impact Pennsylvania that his comments were taken out of context. He says the employee referenced has a military background, and experience discussing emotionally charged issues. Pitzarella says his main message to conference participants stressed the importance of dialog and transparency.
Matt Carmichael, from Anadarko Petroleum, referred to drilling opponents as “insurgents.” Read the full CNBC article here.