Entergy’s press conference about Indian Point delivers a “safe, secure, vital” message – plus “survival bags.”

Nuclear power is controversial in the densely populated Westchester County region, and so if you’re Entergy and you own the aging Indian Point power plant in Buchanan, you might consider announcing your plan to seek a 20-year license renewal on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday. And that’s exactly what Entergy did.

You know like Edelman is to Wal-Mart and that unknown PR firm I read about is to the “biosolids” industry, there’s Burson-Marsteller and their work that they do for the corporatist anti-homeland security energy company Entergy. They even pulled out Giuliani to parrot the line that Indian Point is safe. This is similar to the Dubai ports scandal of the Bush administration. Talking about security is fine until it interferes with business.

Fewer people are bound to be paying attention to today’s news. On Thanksgiving, it’s about cranberry sauce and football, not radiation leaks.

But clever timing wasn’t the only thing in play.

From free coffee to Danish pastry, Entergy’s press conference in Yonkers yesterday was a PR tour de force. They don’t pay Burson-Marsteller, the worldwide, super-duper spinmeisters, the big bucks for doing nothing.

Before the conference started, they played soothing elevator music. There were more suits in sight than at a discount rack at Syms, and they were there to applaud on cue. Buttons made to look like vanity license plates saying “Right4NY” were handled out – and I swore I actually saw a guy on the press side of the aisle wearing one.

Phil, I’m probably one of the few paying attention today. I’ve seen the suits of Entergy before. I’m seriously going to start looking into PR firms and what they do from now on.

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