How Screwed Up Is The Media?

[fabsroman]

The other night on Yahoo, I saw an article that 12 of the 13 miners in West Virginia had survived. The next morning, I was told by my parents that all but one of them had died.

I read another article on Yahoo today stating that the media had screwed up completely and a lot of newspapers had on their front page that 12 of the 13 miners survived, incluiding a portion of USA Today and the entire Washington Post. How can they get something so wrong.

What I love most is that Yahoo nevers mentions in today's article that it had it wrong a couple of days ago. Utterly amazing.

This just makes you wonder about what you hear over the internet and the TV.

[rubicon]

Its a bad enough tragedy without the media screw ups. I watched it as much as I could while on my hunt trip in NC and believe me even the coverage describing the rescue was messed up. Having worked 18 years in a mine close to that one before moving and becoming a flat lander it really hit close home.

[BILLY D.]

Originally posted by fabsroman
The other night on Yahoo, I saw an article that 12 of the 13 miners in West Virginia had survived. The next morning, I was told by my parents that all but one of them had died.

I read another article on Yahoo today stating that the media had screwed up completely and a lot of newspapers had on their front page that 12 of the 13 miners survived, incluiding a portion of USA Today and the entire Washington Post. How can they get something so wrong.

What I love most is that Yahoo nevers mentions in today's article that it had it wrong a couple of days ago. Utterly amazing.

This just makes you wonder about what you hear over the internet and the TV.

fabs

there is an old polish proverb that goes something like this, "don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see." works for me.

[Rocky Raab]

Today, the media does not care if it reports the turth, only that it reports something and does it FIRST.

They went with what was essentially a mis-heard and misunderstood rumor. They did not try to authenticate, did not seek a second source (no matter how crucial this information was), and did not ask an official source to confirm.

They simply broadcast a rumor.

AND THEY DON'T CARE!

[Classicvette63]

I was up until 5am watching that whole mess unfold. Absolutely unexcuseable. The only solice was watching the newscaster, company execs and the govenor squirm afterwards.

The bigger issue is that this is just another example of how much (or how little) big business cares about it's employees (and it's consumers). Almost 300 violations in the last two years. 18 last year that were serious enough that the mine should have been shut down. The ONLY time big business cares about it's employees is when they are financial forced to do so. :mad:

[rubicon]

Just talked to one of my buddies that works there. He says the rescue team which reached the miners in an area where they had erected a barricade radioed to another rescue team which had set up a station in the mine but in an area with good air , saying that they had found them. The call was made while wearing full breathing apparatus. This was as soon as they found the guys and they are trained not to say they are dead until after an attempt to revive. This call was to be only between rescue crews but media somehow got it and we know the story from there. When mine owners learned media was making false reports they didnt bother to correct the situation and instead stood back and allowed loved ones to be happy. UNFORGIVABLE!!! well, we know about the screw ups. now the cover-ups start. Evidently the mining crew had put on their respirators and were coming to the surface when they barricaded. I understand why they barricaded but really wonder what caused that explosion and will probably never know.

[fabsroman]

Something tells me that there is going to be some attorneys involved in this one trying to figure out what caused the explosion. Like you, I wonder too, and not just because I am an attorney. I also wonder why they barricaded themselves in if they were trying to come out. Can you shed any light on that Rubicon? I am the kind of person that likes to know how things work and why certain things are done. Don't ask me why. I know that when I was a kid I would always find myself in the car wondering about things, for instance, how the car works. I guess that is why I like working on cars, trucks, boats, homes, computers, guns, etc.

[Rocky Raab]

I would prefer to think (and I do believe) that mine management didn't withhold information deliberately.

What probably happened is that the media went ahead and started broadcasting their report as if it were truth.

Mine management, meanwhile, are trying to find out what the REAL truth is. Rather than say that the rumors are true OR false, they wanted to be sure. With communications as tough as they were, and in accord with written protocols, they would not release ANY medical information until it was confirmed by doctors. That took time, because they don't send doctors down into the disaster site, they bring rescued people out to the doctors.

The time that takes might SEEM like deliberate cruelty on the part of management, but if the insanely rabid media hadn't broadcast the rumor, the families might have been spared the reversal of the story.

Repeat: I think mine management were going by their written protocols, did not want to make any statements until they knew FOR SURE what had happened, and it is the medias sole fault that the story got screwed up.

[BILLY D.]

so far they are grabbing at straws trying to discern the reason. i've heard? lightnig, static electricity, and even second hand smoke from the local diner.

even if they find out will it be the truth? or is it somebody just boarding up their backside. by the time the media gets through rewrting history it could be a goat rope.

as martin luther king once said, "america only has a 10 day attention span". look for ground breaking news in about 6 months. by the the luster will have worn off and everybody will have dismissed it.

it's just a terrible thing when an event like this occurs. my prayers go out to all those involved.

[rubicon]

Fabs, As a miner you are trained in evacuation procedures and the use of your respirator. Every miner carries one at all times. In the event of an explosion the obvious goal is to get outside after you have put on the respirator. It is kinda hard to explain but a mine section has several entries with crosscuts (at least three) with one being fresh air, one being the belt line and one being the return which has the mine fan at its entrance. Sorta like underground streets and avenues. The crosscuts tying the entries together have non combustable materials stored in them for emergency purposes. The respirators are only effective for a period of time so if on the way out your respirator is giving up the ghost or if you encounter fire, smoke, etc. you have to go in one of the crosscuts with breathable air and seal your self in where you wait for a rescue team. I would bet that is what happened to these guys. As for the explosion itself, electrical permissibility is of the utmost importance and all machinery is supposed to be constantly checked. Machines also have methane monitors on them which should not allow them to to start if methane levels are too high. Also, no, smoking, no open flames, no using torch or welding without constant monitoring. the mines in that area normally produce methane but at least when I was a miner we would get sufficient air to reduce the gas to an acceptable level.I have a problem believing lightning and some of the other things we are hearing. We may learn it was human error or mechanical error. the mine will be closed for as long as it takes for state and federal mine inspectors to determine the cause then most likely it will reopen and the miners will go back to their jobs.

[skeet]

Fabs,
I dealt with reporters many times in the past while working in the Fire Dept. To let you know... The media doesn't care how they get the story...as long as they get it first. Reporters are the ones that do the crazy and stupid things. They intrude into peoples lives with no regard for the people's feelings or loved ones. I have absolutely no use for most of the reporters I have met in the past. There were a couple of good ones who actually reported what you said..but they were few and far between. Ask Rocky. He dealt with them on a daily basis at one time I'm sure. We had an aircraft(737) fire one night and a reporter for one of the Baltimore TV stations broke through security and got in my face while trying to control an aircraft incident. I happened to be in charge. I actually had him arrested for getting onto the airport without going through the correct procedure. Think the guy still hates me. He cussed me till a fly wouldn't light on me. I can tell you that. The average reporter is a whore for a story...even if it ain't so!! Just my opinion. The people who reported this story wrong should be fired at the very least.

[Jack]

I watched this whole mess unfold.....
The first reports that 12 miners had survived came from the families waiting in the church- and every media source I saw said they got the story from the families.
Someone involved with the rescue heard a garbled message and got on a cell phone and broke the "news" to the families.
That person is now being very, very quiet.
If ya wanna blame someone, there's lots of blame to go around:
1. The person who called the families.
2. The media, for not getting a second source before reporting the false news
3. the mining company was told the real news, but didn't tell the families for 3 hours, by the companies own admission.

[fabsroman]

I always thought reporters were like attorneys. LOL At least most people appreciate their attorney. Not many people have a reporter that they entrust with things.

I have only had a reporter contact me once, and that was for a comment on a case I was working on. Without hesitation, I told him that I had no comment, and that was what was put in the paper. I brought the phone call up to the managing partner the next time I saw him and he said I did the right thing. I don't think I would ever tell a reporter anything.

I truly feel bad for the family members involved, and while most of America will forget this in about 2 days, I think the attorneys and family members will be looking really hard at how this happened. Of course, the trial attorneys will be looking to put the blame on somebody with deep pockets. Then there will be the everyday attorneys helping the family with the estate administration and collection of annuities, life insurance, and other assets.

Rubicon,

I pretty much understand the whole barricading in process now. Thanks for that explanation and the explanation on how the explosion could have been caused.

[denton]

The fundamental thing you have to understand about our American news media is this: They are NOT in the business of giving or selling news to people. they ARE in the business of selling audiences to advertisers.

Their main objective is to increase their audience size, so they can charge more for advertising.

The next thing that is important to understanding our media is that many of them are failing miserably at increasing audience size. Probably one of the key reasons that big media is down on the economy is that if you work for network broadcast TV, or a large daily newspaper, economic times ARE tough.

Sensational headlines sell papers in the short term, but undermine credibility, and hurt circulation in the long term.

One of the things I'm enjoying about our times is the bloggers who make it a hobby to fact check big media, and call attention to blatant errors and biases. You might try www.instapundit.com for frequent links to that kind of activity.

[PJgunner]

Many years ago now, before I retired, I worked for the Weather Bureau. Every time we had a waether situation, primarily due to thunderstorm damage, this one reporter for the paper would call for an interview. I'd give him the facts as they happened and if they were not lurid enough, he'd embellish the hell out of them. The next day, the boss would chew my butt for exagerating the facts, which I hadn't done. I got to the point where I would refuse to give him the interview and said I would give one to some other reporter, but not him. He calls up the boss and I get reamed out again. After all, it's all about "freedom of the press" and all that garbage. I don't recall "freedom to lie" though.
So, I am ordered to give the guy an interview if he calls. Well, needless to say, he called after the next strom and I let him know in no uncertain circumstances that one, I was taping the interview, and if he misquotes me by just one word he would have his typewriter or word processor or what ever he uses being used as a suppository in his nether regions sideways. After that, I never got misquoted or had an interview embellished again.
The really sad part of all that is I really was hoping he'd misquote me. I had a very strong dislike for that fellow.
Paul B.

[Nulle]

I will hold judgement until the whole story unfolds if it does.
I find it pretty hard to believe the news media is that cold as to do what they did "unless" they had some reliable information that was not true.
Even they must know the back-lash of an articel stating the men were ok could mean to them.
There is more to this then we know at this time I would bet.

[Rocky Raab]

Nulle, it's clear you haven't dealt with many reporters. They're not only cold, they are completely without care or concern whatsoever.

As JD Salinger put it, they're "as sensitive as a toilet seat."

PJ, you could have had all the tape in the world of that interview. If he had done his usual trick, what would you have done with the tape? Taken it to the media? Ha! When they control what gets printed, they will never be guilty of anything. Oh, and that's why companies need a PR professional to deal with the media as the SOLE spokesman for that company. Real PR isn't to make a tainted company look good - it's to keep a company from getting unfairly tainted.

Fabs, I have great respect for some lawyers. I have zero respect for any reporter, period.

[denton]

I have zero respect for any reporter, period.

I see you are one of their bigger fans.

[WyoShooter]

I feel that the liberal left wingers will somehow blame President Bush for this disaster and the false report to the media.
Don't mean to make light of this but you just watch.

[Lilred]

Ya know..that whole thing is a dam shame...and it's mighty pitiful.
It's 1 thing to report somethin to the general public...but fer them er whoever to let the poor families think that they were alive and even gave them enough time to celebrate to boot..aint right.

I can only imagine what those folks are goin through..I hope the Lord looks after em and comforts em.

[Nulle]

Rocky = With alldo respect I may have delt with more reporters then you have on a up close and personal basis.
I realize they get some trash in there and have had statements we have given them taken and printed out of context also.
They can be like a pack of wolfs and it takes one to get it started but I still think in this case misinformation was leaked out but I may be wrong.

[Hawkeye6]

"...I may have delt with more reporters then you have on a up close and personal basis. ..."

Hey, Nulle, IIRC dealing with reporters on an up-close and personal basis is one of the things that Rocky used to do to put food on the table. If that is correct, I'll be he dealt more with guys like Gerald Revovler and other nationally pseudo-recognized dimwits than you have. I would think you've probably dealt more with the state and local reporters. The ones who have to live with the prople they reoprt on. Two different breeds, there. The first I beleive are professional liars and rumour-mongers. The latter are forced to be a bit more honest.

H

[Nulle]

Well there may be some facts along that line as the local yokels are better to channel into your way of thinking then the Nationals.
We do host the Largest motorcyle rally in the world and deal with the big boys on a everyday deal for about a week and a half every year. So to hint that I am stupid in the media respect is stupid in its own right and also I would never lump ALL them together by saying non of them are anygood and if this is the case why read or watch any news stuff at all as with this concept it would be perceived as lies anyway.
I sure don't think for a minute that what they did was right but not sure why they would do it knowing darn well it could and did blow up in their face.
Its not like they needed to get viewers as they were already there - was it just to be nasty and crule to the viewers and family? I don't know and really don't understand this one at all.

[Valigator]

I think there will be a attemped lawsuit somewhere in the woodpile, thats why I dont think your hearing too much about it from the parties involved...

[rubicon]

Without boubt there will be law suits before it is all over. For now familys are grieving and burying their loved ones. With Wv state troupers stationed at the local churches and funeral homes to keep the reporters away. There is some interisting info on the MSHA website concerning the mine violations.

[LoneWolf]

Originally posted by WyoShooter
I feel that the liberal left wingers will somehow blame President Bush for this disaster and the false report to the media.
Don't mean to make light of this but you just watch.


Already heard on ABC radio Thursday morning, on how this directly related to Bush's friendly stance with mining companies, and lessening the laws on company safety.

What a crock:rolleyes:

[Rocky Raab]

Not knocking your work, Nulle. Anyone who works with reporters on a regular basis is as good as a combat vet. Salute.

I'm not bragging either, but just sharing war stories. But I've done more than 3,000 interviews. I did a full hour on CNN, was interviewed by all the biggies at one point or another: Dan Rather, Wolf Blitzer, even Walter Cronkite. Including Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes.

I've been interviewed by everybody from part-time freelance wannabes to the above names. I mean everybody in between. Live radio, live TV, newspaper, wire services, all of it. About half of it extremely hostile and accusative (I was one of two media spokesmen for the Challenger Space Shuttle accident.)

In all that time, I knew maybe three reporters who I'd call decent. One of them I'd even like to have as a friend - he's Jay Barbree, NBC at Cape Canaveral.

The rest? I think less of them than the stuff I'd scrape off my shoes after a walk through the kennel.

[skeeter@ccia.com]

I listen to the media making mistakes just about every night.news papers..radio..or tv...they say live reporting from (then they name my home town) but give the wrong county..or the other way around..names etc most of the time incorrect..and these are just the ones I know is wrong...this leads me to KNOW not to believe their stories 100%...they might give ya food for thought then can research it yourself...listen to a few stations and make up your own story..
I think since most of the media...cnn/etc etc....reported the wrong info just to be the first out with it....we will hear most of it slip under the rug....now if it was something not dealing with their mess up, it would be reported over and over and over and during their 15 min program that they have to drag out for an hr or more, they keep saying watch later...to find out....this I wish they would realize how much they hurt the program by doing so...like the weather...ya get up...tv to see weather...all ya hear is ....is it going to storm?..stay tuned and find out...well..da....I want to hear it now...even if it is over and over...but the correct info at that...they should be told to go back to the 15 min news and do it right....forget about being first...it is always first on the channel I am watching anyhow...They remind me of the old test that they told one person one thing and they kept whispering the story to several others down the line..by the time it got to the other end...was a diffenent thing altogether....lol

[fabsroman]

I was in Long Island over the weekend and I brought up this media disaster to one of my wife's uncles, who happens to be a liberal. He comes back with, "You know Bush it to blame for it." My response, "How is Bush to blame for the erroneous reporting of the media?" His response, "Oh, you were talking about the media?"

It truly kills me. We talked about Bush's involvement some more and I asked him if he really thought Bush had first hand knowledge of all these violations that were "overlooked" or if Bush had merely appoointed the person in charge of the agency to oversee mining, or if it just happened to fall back on Bush because it happened to be an executive agency function and Bush is the President. He responded that he didn't know. It amazes me at how easily people can be brain washed. They don't even try to figure out what the truth is, but believe what they hear because it suits them.

Just like a lot of forwarded e-mail that I receive. I love the one about Target being a French company, when it is based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota and it started out as part of the Dayton-Hudson Company which has been around in America since about 1918. I could go on and on about this and provide a list, but it is late and I need to go through a bunch of other posts before I get to sleep.

[Nulle]

Rocky: I have delt with a couple of the ones you mentioned on a short term one incident deal and I hope this is not taken out of context as I am not defending them just trying to understand "why" it was done.
Are they just that uncaring and nobody to hold them accountable.
I have gone through extensive media training and one thing is you don't get in a pissing match with them because you will lose.
In the last year they are really on a frenzy it seems like and we got blasted big time when I was with FEMA and now they are after the Red Cross also.
In the mine case was there not a media person in charge of the press release stuff? You have to give them something to report or they will make it up. I still think somebody gave them that false information but as time goes on I can see we will never know.

[Rocky Raab]

I think that was a huge part of the problem: no mine company media spokesman. As you say, when they can't get a usable 20-second sound bite from a talking head - they make one up.

You learned well, Nulle.

For a couple of years, I actually had a consulting business to provide such a service to small companies. I called it "The P.R. Department." For a contingency fee, I'd write their media response emergency plan, train a person to be their spokesman (or learn enough about them to do it myself) and give tham annual updates.

Not one company saw either the value of that or the danger of NOT having that. Just like that mine, probably.

They do now, I'd bet.

[Nulle]

My God do you suspect that is what took place ? Sure is looking like it.
We have PR person for the simplest things to protect our butt and without it I guess we can see what happens.
Helter Skelter and even with it we have had the media blow drug deals and everything else.
How can they be held accountable for this type stuff ?

[Rocky Raab]

That's exactly what I think happened:

Small company - no full-time media spokesman, no media response plan, no senior manager designated as media contact.

Top that off with a "the media can wait, we're busy now" attitude (which is completely understandable, but fatal to company image) and you have a media-spread false rumor, a three-hour delay in correcting it, and years of litigation followed by bankruptcy.

Now watch, not ONE other mine or business anywhere will learn anything from this tragedy.

[rubicon]

I think you guys are right. In the 18 years I worked in the mines we never had anybody to deal with the media. Whenever something happened the company superintendent was always told to deal with the reporters. Of course we never had a disaster of this magnitude. Mine inspections and mine laws are done by two different agencies, state and federal, with the most stringent being the law you must abide with. Inspectors show up unannounced and stay for weeks at a time. In all fareness to the mine company, the number of violations they had is not uncommon . Also sometimes violations are petty (I got written up once when a state inspector went to shower and there was no soap)The way mine violations work, when you get one you must immediately correct the problem then the inspector abates the violation but it still goes on record as a violation. In the case of emminent danger violations, the working section or entire mine is shut down, only those repairing the problem are allowed in the area, and when complete the inspector abates it and everyone goes back to work. Im not just blowing smoke here. The mine I worked at was about an hour drive from this one and I worked daily with the fathers of two of the guys whgo didnt make it out.

[Nulle]

On the news this AM to Governor is doing an investigation as to how that mis-information was put out and where it came from.

[Slim-Zippy]

What is so unsusual about the media jumping to inaccurate or false conslusions that hurt or ruin people or business. Just watch the news tonight and count the number of times that opinion is reported as fact, the spin placed on political issues, stories that are ignored that don't fit their political agenda or advertisers wishes, and my all time favorite is when they ask some freshly traumatized person how they feel about the trauma; totally insensitive, callused jerks that make prostitution look like a noble profession.

I wish the media would go back to reporting who, what, when, wher, how, and why. Fact checking is a thing of the past and apologies are rarely given for some very atrocious mistakes.

[rubicon]

Although it is another great tragedy with the two miners dead in the latest mine fire, at least the state police kept the media away from the families and a MESA official met with the families privately to give them the grim news prior to telling the media.

[Rocky Raab]

This is one of those times when I am absolutely delighted to be wrong.

Somebody learned something.

[Jack]

"a MESA official met with the families privately to give them the grim news"
I agree !
And no, well meaning, unauthorized person got on a cell phone and gave the families bad information.