Oil and ink mix as Chevron reports the ‘news’ in Texas, New Mexico
Mayor Sam Cobb of Hobbs, center, is very open about his support for the oil and gas industry, which dominates his community and the region. He says Chevron’s website, Permian Proud, is just another example of how the company gives backs to the communities where it operates. Courtesy City of Hobbs website
Santa Fe New Mexican
Across West Texas’ Permian Basin, the oil industry’s presence seeps into many facets of life. Businesses from hotels to veterinary clinics display oil pump jacks on their signs. An oil derrick is part of the logo for the city of Midland.
And there’s another way the industry influences local communities: Since 2022, one of the largest oil producers in the Permian Basin has run its own local news website. The Chevron-operated site, Permian Proud, provides local news coverage for a region with a dwindling number of local news outlets, while inserting articles with a positive spin about the company.
The news site doesn’t have staff reporters or editors like traditional news media, and instead is written by a San Francisco public relations firm and a Chevron public and government affairs adviser.
The Permian Basin covers a 250-mile by 300-mile swath of Eastern New Mexico and West Texas. It is one of the most oil-rich areas in the world, producing more than 10 million barrels per day of oil and natural gas, the latter composed primarily of methane.
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