Dr. Conca reports that companies like Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter sell digital ads but contribute little in terms of employment, job multipliers or tax receipts. Their revenues are small, ten times less than their value. On the other hand, Exelon produces enormous amounts of cheap, clean energy, in this case from nuclear power. Exelon brings in more revenue than it is valued, and supports tens of thousands of jobs. The media firms are hailed as leaders of the new economy, despite their insignificant contributions to employment or products. They manage their message carefully to resonate with global audiences. The message is inspiring, if mostly superfluous. Contrast this delivery with that of the industrial world, say nuclear power.
The nuclear industry is vilified in the press, scorned by green activists, and ignored by many liberal politicians. The response by the industry is poised and measured, pointing to the facts, such as its superior safety record compared to all other industries, its overwhelming majority share of low-carbon energy, its unmatched reliability, or its numerous high-paying jobs. But it cannot seem to pierce the unfair image that has been painted by irrational, and baseless, fear through Facebook gossip, and media misrepresentations of nuclear power. So, the nuclear industry, along with most others, must get with the program and learn to define itself first, control the message, and disrupt the nonsense espoused by its detractors.
It must tell its story in terms of job creation and lucrative careers, in terms of lights and heating and electricity and what that means to modern societies, or to eradicating poverty. It must speak in terms of innovation, inventions and technology creation. Above all, the industry must wrest control of the green message by taking on its very leadership since nuclear produces twice as much clean energy as all other clean energy sources combined.
The original URL: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2016/11/22/from-media-to-nuclear-power-messaging-trumps-reality/#1575e9ed34b0
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