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Piece Description
What's it like to live in a town built in the shadow of a corporation? Richmond, California, is one of the ten most dangerous cities in the United States, with one of the lowest standards of living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Within its city limits, the Chevron Corporation operates a huge oil refinery. The company generated more than $14 billion in profits in 2005. This is the story of how the fortunes of a corporation and its historic hometown grew in opposite directions. In this radio documentary produced by KALW News, Kristi Coale reports on the history of the city and the company, how they diverged,and the responsibilities a corporation should have in its hometown.
Broadcast History
Originally aired on KALW, 91.7 FM in San Francisco, on March 12, 2006.
Transcript
SUGGESTED LEDE:
Richmond, California, located about a dozen miles northeast of San Francisco, is like many medium-sized towns across the United States. In its hundred-year history, its fortunes have risen and fell - often based upon the success of the major industries located there.
Two, in particular, put the town on the map. Literally. They were the Santa Fe Railroad, and Standard Oil, both of which predated the city's incorporation.
Over the last century, Standard Oil, later Chevron Corporation, has come to define Richmond. Its refinery tanks - and the smoke that flows from its stacks - dominate the northern horizon. Within eight months of opening, the Richmond refinery became Standard Oil's top producer on the Pacific Coast. Today, Chevron is a $150 billion corporation. It recently posted its highest earnings ever and ranks in the top ten largest companies in the worl...
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Arvid Hokanson
Posted on May 16, 2006 at 01:49 PM | Permalink
Review of Wealth & Poverty: Company Town
This documentary demonstrates a well-produced, sound-rich, locally-focused story with national appeal. An excellent piece to place on PRX. Nice job to Kristi Coale and KALW for a job well done.
This piece was educational and did a good job of introducing the listener to Richmond and its relationship with Chevron. The opening sentence and tape did a great job inviting the listener. As someone who knew nothing about the city or the issue, I felt like I gained a good grasp of the issues and a sense of the city in the context of the Bay Area.
This documentary has a good narrative arc and good flow. I enjoyed the diversity of voices, including the tape from Chevron officials. I was also glad to hear a reset in the middle. This shows thinking in terms of programming and not just production. Most listeners don't hear each program from start to finish without some interruption.
This piece would work well as an insert into ATC for a format breaker special or a local news magazine or half hour special - with a NPR newscast to fill out the half hour.