The scripts are available for printing and for sound bite identification.
Go to http://www.wichita.edu/newsline to get the current Wichita State University Newsline. If you cannot access the Newsline at the Web address above, contact Joe Kleinsasser at (316) 978-3013 or cell (316) 204-8266 or joe.kleinsasser@wichita.edu. Newsline cuts may be edited to suit your needs.
If you have additional questions for Jim Clark after listening to the WSU Newsline, please call him at (316) 978-7097 or jim.clark@wichita.edu.
Background:
While much of the focus of the Louisiana oil spill has focused on potential environmental damage, another concern is the potential economic impact. Wichita State University economist Jim Clark says the long-term economic effect is unknown.
Voice wrap:
Announcer: The ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has attracted extensive publicity for its environmental impact, but the economic cost of the disaster is expected to be great as well. Wichita State University economist Jim Clark says the economic cost is hitting the Gulf Coast states especially hard.
Clark: "The Gulf oil spill right now is mostly affecting the states around the Gulf. The fishing industry is pretty much on hold, nobody is allowed to catch much of anything. And tourism is starting to be affected as oil is washing up on the beaches in Florida."
Announcer: Clark says the public seems to be equally mad at Washington and business for letting the oil spill happen and not being able to fix it. He says a long-term question is what the attitude toward business is going to be and whether we'll all have to pay for a lot of new expensive regulations. This is Joe Kleinsasser at Wichita State University.
Sound bite #1
Clark says BP is taking the biggest hit financially for having to clean up the spill. The sound bite is 11 seconds and the outcue is "pay for the cleanup."
Clark: "BP is taking a big hit from the cleanup. They're going to end up paying for everything. Fortunately, the way the laws are written, the rest of us won't have to see our taxes go up to pay for the cleanup."
Sound bite #2
Clark says BP can afford to pay the cleanup costs. The sound bite is 12 seconds and the outcue is "get it cleaned up."
Clark: "BP is a big company. They can afford to pay all of these costs. It's not going to put them out of business in the long run, but the longer the well keeps spewing oil, the more money they're going to have to pay to get it cleaned up."
Sound bite #3
Clark explains what the long-term effect of the oil spill will have on most of us. The sound bite is 26 seconds and the outcue is "a little scarcer."
Clark: "Long-term effects on most of us in the U.S. are going to be, seafood's going to be more expensive and harder to find for probably several years. We may see a little bit more expensive oil products because we've stopped, for the moment anyway, drilling for oil. And we're probably not going to go back to as much drilling as we planned on over the next several years, so gasoline's going to be a little scarcer."
Sound bite #4
Clark says the public seems to be mad at the government and business over the oil spill. The sound bite is 18 seconds and the outcue is "to pay for."
Clark: "Right now we all seem to be mad at both Washington and business for letting this happen and not being able to fix it. A long-term question is, what is the attitude toward business going to be? Is this going to create a lot of new expensive regulations that we're all going to have to pay for?"
Sound bite #5
Clark says the oil spill won't have much of a direct effect on Kansans. The sound bite is 15 seconds and the outcue is "result of the spill."
Clark: "Kansas isn't going to see much of any direct effect of this. We will see probably higher prices for seafood. We may see some impact in the long term on what we do with regulation of businesses as a result of the spill."
Sound bite #6
Clark says the long-term impact of the oil spill is unknown. The sound bite is 20 seconds and the outcue is "get it all cleaned up."
Clark: "We've really got no idea what the total long-term impact is going to be. It depends on how fast they can get the well plugged up and the spill stopped. If the hurricane season interferes with that, it may keep running away for several months. That's going to keep on increasing the cost that BP has got to pay in order to get it all cleaned up."