Call Number:

SECC

Repository:

Temple University Libraries Special Collections Research Center

Extent:

64.0 linear feet (149 containers)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Safe Energy Communication Council records, 1974-2003, Temple University Libraries Special Collections Research Center .

Date:

1974-2003 (inclusive)

Creator:

Safe Energy Communications Council.

Form:

Clippings, Correspondence, Financial records, and Press kits

Abstract:

Safe Energy Communication Council (SECC) was a national, non-profit council of ten environmental and public interest media groups, founded in 1980 after the 1979 partial meltdown of Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. From 1980 to 2003, SECC educated the public and the media about energy efficiency and renewable energy’s potential to produce a larger share of our nation’s energy needs, as well as the economic and environmental liabilities of nuclear power. SECC provided local, state and national organizations with technical assistance through media skills training and outreach strategies. Scott Denman served as Executive Director for the majority of SECC’s existence. This collection contains the records of the Safe Energy Communication Council. The collection dates from 1974 to 2003, and covers a wide range of materials and subjects. The bulk of the collection is comprised of administrative records, which include internal communications, meeting minutes of the Board of Directors, and extensive financial and fundraising materials. Other records in the collection include newspaper and magazine clippings, correspondence, internal communications and planning materials, SECC publications and press releases, video and audio tapes, and the results of public opinion polls and surveys about energy and environmental issues.

Safe Energy Communication Council (SECC) was a national, non-profit council of ten environmental and public interest media groups, founded in 1980 after the 1979 partial meltdown of Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. From 1980 to 2003, SECC educated the public and the media about energy efficiency and renewable energy’s potential to produce a larger share of our nation’s energy needs, as well as the economic and environmental liabilities of nuclear power. SECC provided local, state and national organizations with technical assistance through media skills training and outreach strategies. Scott Denman served as Executive Director for the majority of SECC’s existence.

SECC’s primary mission was to counterbalance the nuclear industry’s multi-million dollar annual propaganda campaigns; prevent new reactors from being built; promote sustainable energy alternatives; and to provide information, technical assistance and media training to grassroots safe energy and environmental groups. SECC achievements were significant during its more than two decades of work to influence national and local energy policies and practices.

Among its accomplishments, SECC led successful national media campaigns that cut more than $400 million in annual federal taxpayer subsidies for nuclear power-related spending programs. SECC coordinated coalition organizing efforts to support sustainable energy policies at the federal and statewide level. It created innovative programs like the Ohio Municipal Leaders Workshop, which trained and supported public utility mangers and elected officials in their efforts to advance energy efficiency and renewable energy development in their communities. It spearheaded the national organizing effort that contributed to the shutdown of the Rancho Seco reactor in California, and engaged in local efforts to close other dangerous reactors, such as Shoreham in New York and Davis-Besse in Ohio.

SECC also released several books and reports on utility deregulation, Reinventing Electric Utilities; the $100 billion bailout of the industry under utility deregulation, The Great Ratepayer Robbery; and the marine environmental destruction caused by operating reactors, Licensed to Kill. SECC published Power Boosters ^TM the point/counterpoint report series that countered the pro-nuclear energy platform put out by the nuclear industry. It directed "VIEWPOINT," an electronic op-ed service for daily and weekly newspapers and developed "ENFacts," an energy graphics service for newsletters, newspapers and other types of publications.

SECC provided expert commentary and interviews for local, regional and national media, becoming a respected and credible source of information for journalists. During its two decades in service it issued hundreds of news releases, advisories, backgrounders, letters to the editor, public service announcements, statements and related publicity materials on timely energy and related environmental topics. It helped local activists gain more than $8 million in radio and television airtime to counter the nuclear and other industries’ media campaigns; trained energy, environmental and consumer advocates on effective media campaigning; and directed media campaigns that helped Pennsylvania consumer and energy activists cut more than $6 billion in bailouts to the state’s utilities for their nuclear power plants in the late 1990s.

For more than 23 years, SECC was successful in securing support from private foundations and individual donors, but the sagging economy and precipitous drop of the stock market meant that many foundations and philanthropists have either severely curtailed or terminated their giving. Recognizing that those realities were likely to continue, SECC closed its doors in 2003.

Bibliography: Quoted directly, in segments, from: “SECC Announces Closure Following More Than Two Decades of Successful Anti-Nuclear, Sustainable Energy Advocacy.” Full document available in box 112, folder 1, Safe Energy Communication Council records, Temple University Special Collections.

This collection contains the records of the Safe Energy Communication Council. The collection dates from 1974 to 2003, and covers a wide range of materials and subjects. The bulk of the collection is comprised of administrative records, which include internal communications, meeting minutes of the Board of Directors, and extensive financial and fundraising materials. Other records in the collection include newspaper and magazine clippings, correspondence, internal communications and planning materials, SECC publications and press releases, video and audio tapes, and the results of public opinion polls and surveys about energy and environmental issues. Of particular interest are the “Campaign” files, which document the various local and nationwide projects run by the SECC; the “Public opinion polls,” which represent public sentiment about a variety of energy and environmental issues in the 1980s and 1990s; and the “Media” files, which cover the entire date range of the SECC’s operation and contain press clippings and photocopies of articles that reveal how local and national media represented nuclear and alternative energy issues. The collection is especially useful in that it documents the major functions and activities of a non-profit organization for the duration of its active existence. The collection is divided into five series: “Administrative Records,” ”Publications by SECC,” “Media,” “Public opinion polls and other surveys,” and “Audio/Visual and electronic materials.” When perusing the folder lists in any series or subseries, researchers should note that the files are not in strict alphabetical or chronological order, though files are typically, loosely arranged in either alphabetical or chronological order.

Series one, “Administrative records,” is divided into five subseries: “Board of Directors,” “Campaign records,” “Correspondence,” “Financial records,” and “Fundraising materials.” There is some overlap between campaign records, financial records and fundraising materials, as all contain information related to donations, grants and other sources of income. In general, most records related to fundraising were only included in the “Campaign records” subseries when grant applications were successful and the grant or donation was applied to a specific campaign. The first subseries, “Board of Directors,” spans the years 1980 to 2003, including some undated materials, and is arranged in chronological order by year. Within years, files are arranged in loose chronological order by month and day. The subseries primarily consists of meeting minutes, but peppered throughout are Board of Directors’ correspondence with donors and partner organizations, as well as internal communications with SECC management and staff. Of interest are notes, mostly written by Scott Denman, that illustrate planning processes of the Board of Directors members. The second subseries, “Campaign records,” dates from 1974 to 2002, with some undated material, and documents presumably all of the projects proposed or run by SECC, including unsuccessful program proposals. Files are organized alphabetically by campaign title or campaign subject. City and state campaign and proposal files also are included within the overall alphabetical arrangement, filed under “S” for “State campaign.” Also included at the end of the subseries is a group of “Subject files,” which most likely were compiled as background research for campaigns. The subseries contains proposals and correspondence related to funding, as well as documents produced by a project or campaign, intended to distribute information about energy issues. These files include a wide range of formats, such as newspaper clippings, workshop handbooks, print outs of presentation PowerPoint slides, correspondence, notes, and press releases. Major campaigns include activism against breeder reactors (notably the Clinch River reactor and the “Bag the Breeder” media campaigns), gas turbine modular helium reactors and advanced liquid metal reactors; involvement in production of the comedic anti-nuclear power movie, Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell of Fear; and an Ohio-based workshop and campaign run in partnership with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). The earliest records found in this subseries were not produced by the SECC; rather, Scott Denman most likely collected these materials while working for another advocacy group before joining the SECC. The third subseries, “Correspondence,” dates from 1982 to 2001 and documents communication between SECC administrators and partner organizations or local campaign activists. There are also letters and email exchanges between Scott Denman and individuals who wrote to SECC for campaign and clean energy information. The subseries is arranged chronologically by year, with two files at the end of the subseries relating to an energy mandate and polls.

The fourth subseries “Financial Records” includes bills, tax information, records of various financial accounts, yearly and monthly budget summaries and projections; as well a few SECC employee policy files covering the financial aspects of the sick leave policy, sexual harassment policy, health insurance and other personnel issues. The subseries dates from 1980 to 2003, covering the entire life span of the organization with the most detailed records dating between the years 1999 and 2003. Many financial relationships with campaigns, vendors and bank accounts are documented consistently over several years. Later records reveal the lack of funding that led to the dissolution of the Council in 2003. There is some crossover between this subseries and the “Campaign” and “Fundraising” materials, all of which include documents that record the financial transactions involved in fundraising, applying for grants, and allocating grant funds within specific campaigns. The subseries is organized in loose chronological order by year.

The final subseries “Fundraising materials,” dating from 1980 to 2002, contains records of both unsuccessful and successful grant applications with related correspondence, as well as grant donation letters and checks. The correspondence between donors and SECC administration is of particular interest in that it documents the extensive process of obtaining grants, especially concerning the development of donor relationships, sometimes over the course of several decades. Later records in the subseries especially reflect the SECC’s growing difficulty in obtaining grants and donations, many times even from donors who had contributed extensively in the past. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by organization name and/or donor name. Researchers should note that organizations are not always filed according to their official title. For example, the “William Penn Foundation” is filed under “Penn, William Foundation." Included at the end of the subseries are fundraising-related “Subject files” that most likely were compiled by SECC as background research for grant applications and fundraising planning purposes. There is some overlap between this subseries and the “Campaign records” subseries, as both include project proposals, project budgets and correspondence with donors.

The second series, “Publications by the SECC,” contains published materials produced at least in part by the SECC, dating from 1983 to 2003, with some undated materials. Items include MYTHBusters reports, which were produced in response to nuclear industry “propaganda;” “ENFacts,” which contained energy related graphics, usually published in other organizations’ newsletters and magazines; and the “Viewpoint” nuclear power fact sheets. There are some magazine and book length items, such as the “Energy Boosters” brochures and pamphlets as well as the Licensed to Kill report on nuclear power plants harming marine life. Many of these materials are lengthier than their titles would suggest, containing in-depth information about the nuclear power industry and its supposed “propaganda.” The series also contains the final published versions of these works, as well as the related correspondence, drafts, notes and research documenting the creation of the publications. The series is arranged alphabetically by publication title. Included at the end of the series are publication trademark application forms related to several different SECC publications.

The third series, “Media,” dates from 1981 to 2003 and is organized in loose chronological order by year. Like most of the other series in this collection, the “Media” records span the majority of SECC’s existence, including their closure in 2003 as announced in a press release found in box 112, folder 1. The series primarily consists of newspaper clippings from national and local newspapers related to the SECC, its projects, or nuclear power, energy, the federal government and environmental issues. Also included are materials produced for press conferences held by the SECC, including press kits, press releases, correspondence and related notes that reflect SECC’s mission to raise public awareness about nuclear power and environmental issues. Topics covered in the clippings and press conference materials include Chernobyl and other nuclear power reactor sites; nuclear waste; presidential administration decisions; the Fairness Doctrine and the Federal Communications Commission; organizations such as the Council for Energy Awareness and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. There are some articles written by SECC staff, but most are about issues relevant to the SECC. Clippings also include political cartoons and anti-nuclear graphics. Because the SECC relied extensively on newspaper and magazine articles for background research and planning purposes, this series would supplement information found in any other series of the collection. As such, not all clippings in the collection are found in the “Media” series; some clippings about specific campaigns or projects are housed elsewhere, including in the “Campaign” series, especially in the files related to media training workshops.

The fourth series “Public opinion polls and other surveys” dates from 1974 to 2002 and is organized chronologically. The series includes the results of surveys, survey questions, worksheets for telephone poll conductors, reports summarizing and interpreting survey results and media clippings of articles that discuss the surveys and polls. The polls mostly contain questions about energy and nuclear power issues, but also about income, education, political and religious affiliations, and gender. Some of the surveys and polls were carried out and directed by the SECC, while others were from national or local organizations. Of particular interest are the polls conducted in response to proposed bills in the House or Senate and in response to plans for new nuclear reactors or nuclear waste sites.

The “Audio/Visual and electronic materials” series is divided into five subseries, based on recording format: “Slides,” “VHS tapes,” “U-matic tapes and other videocassettes,” “Reel to reel recordings,” “Audiocassettes” and “3 ½ inch floppy discs and other computer data recordings.”

Researchers should note that Temple does not have the capability to access information in all of these formats. Please contact the archives for more information on accessibility of these materials.

The “Slides” subseries houses three or four small groups of mostly unidentified slides that were presumably used in SECC presentations. At least one group of slides is accompanied by a presentation script.

The largest subseries, “VHS tapes,” is dominated by public service announcements, televisions ads, news clips and feature stories presented by mainstream television networks and special interest groups regarding nuclear power and other environmental issues. The recordings are a mix of professionally duplicated tapes and movies likely recorded on someone’s personal VCR. There is a small group of VHS tapes created by SECC, as part of one of their media campaigns, as well as some recordings specifically related to “SMUD.” It appears that SECC organized their VHS collection into several categories, designated by the following codes: “Nuke,” “CEA,” “EnEff,” “Hydro,” “FosFuel,” “Renew,” “ES” and “NoNEn.” There is also a large group of uncategorized tapes that, though they are uncategorized, are usually labeled. In fact, most, if not all, of the tapes are identified in some way. Topics noted on labels include: Yucca Mountain, political debate, House Energy bill, Chernobyl and US Council for Energy Awareness. The tapes are currently organized into SECC’s designated categories, with no further organization imposed. Uncategorized tapes are filed last and represent the largest group of VHS tapes.

Following the VHS tapes are the “U-matic tapes and other videocassettes” and “Reel to reel recordings” subseries. Similar in nature to the VHS tapes, the videocassettes and reel to reel recordings appear to be a combination of public service announcements, televisions ads, news clips and feature stories presented by mainstream television networks and special interest groups regarding nuclear power and environmental issues. Most, if not all, are identified. Researchers should note that the videocassettes and reel to reels are of various formats.

The “Audio cassettes” represent the second largest subseries within the A/V series. There is a nice sampling of recordings created by SECC, particularly of Board of Director meetings from the 1990s and early 2000s. In addition, there appear to be audio recordings of presentations and radio show interviews given by Scott Denman and other SECC staff. Other audio recordings include clips from National Public Radio’s show, Morning Edition, and several examples of public service announcements from commercial radio stations.

Finally, the last subseries, “3 ½ inch floppy discs and other computer data recordings,” consists a stack of mostly unlabeled 3 ½ inch floppy discs as well as data recording cartridges. These presumably hold information related to wide ranging projects and SECC work, however, it is not known for sure what information is saved here.

Based on the size of the series and the existing labeling, it seems as though this series contains a valuable collection of audio and, especially, video recordings to document media representation of nuclear energy in the 1980s and 1990s. While much of it is likely to be available elsewhere, in the archives of television networks, for example, there is probably no other similar assemblage of recordings from multiple news sources regarding nuclear energy specifically.