Polamalu's Gasland Post Leads To Facebook Frenzy

Scott Detrow

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Scott Detrow is a congressional correspondent for NPR. He also co-hosts the NPR Politics Podcast.

Detrow joined NPR in 2015 to cover the presidential election. He focused on the Republican side of the 2016 race, spending time on the campaign trail with Donald Trump, and also reported on the election's technology and data angles.

Detrow worked as a statehouse reporter for member stations WITF in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and KQED in San Francisco, California. He has also covered energy policy for NPR's StateImpact project, where his reports on Pennsylvania's hydraulic fracturing boom won a DuPont-Columbia and national Edward R. Murrow Award in 2013.

January 11, 2012 | 10:33 AM

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Steelers safety Troy Polamalu

Steelers safety Troy Polamalu recently learned what we here at StateImpact have known for a long time: the issue of natural gas drilling sparks passionate debate.
The Post-Gazette recounts what happened last month, when Polamalu listed the anti-fracking documentary “Gasland” as one of his favorite movies.

The Polamalu Facebook page was suddenly home to a face-off over fracking, with one fan in Fort Worth, Texas, calling the film “left wing trash” that he was disappointed to see coming with a Steelers seal of approval. Yet another thanked him, saying Mr. Polamalu’s “fame and clout” was helpful in spreading the “Gasland” gospel to the Steelers Nation.
Soon the gas debate talking points followed, over whether the jobs were worth the environmental risk or whether national security relied on gas exploration. It’s probably the first time a Steeler has inspired talk of OPEC.