'Miner' trouble in W.V.

FYI-I got to work at a bit before 5 A.M. and by that time the miners were dead.

Watching the MSNBC recap of 'how could the media have screwed this up?'

It's really hard to know who to trust on this one (and I'm saying this as a member of the Evil Mainstream Media).

Tony Macilius, an MSNBC producer made a good point when he said that not only were the mainstream media to blame for the error, but so are the bloggers who crucify the mainstream media. I can't speak for the validity of how many bloggers got the info correct vs. media conglomerates, but when I blog about something 'real' I use the same standards that I would at work. When is comes down to it I wrote it. And if it's incorrect I'm going to get blamed for it. So I want to make sure my facts are correct.

Interesting this happened this morning at work though. A bunch of people in the news room were pondering the idea of such bastions of journalism as the NY Times, USA Today, and the Boston Herald having incorrect info on the first draft of their front pages...and wondering how to counteract that, I put in my two cents- that's what you have a website for. (Sure enough, by around 7 A.M., if not earlier, the NY Times and USA Today had corrections on their website).


Ummm..and Dick Cheney picks today to speak out about the 'mixed messages' that the troops in Iraq are getting...?....For some reason this seems insensitive to me.

As I watch the press conference given by the president of International Coal Group, Inc. I am reminded of something my Intro to PR told the class- when you're in a crisis situation, stay with one spokesperson and don't lie. I imagine that the company's lawyers are upset that he's going to risk standing up against the media but it's his company an his mistake. (He does seem very upset and emotional...either that or he's a really good actor). He's also choosing to go over a timeline of the flow of information that led to misinformation being sent out into the world. And he keeps praising the rescue/ removal team. This is a good way for the company to save face in the looming 'miscommunication' that occurred.

Oh, wait. They've got a second guy. Not sure what his name is...another mining exec, perhaps? He's crying too. Mine rescuers called base and told everyone that 12 people were alive, then asked all non-necessary personnel to leave the room at the fresh air base. Non-essential personnel went out to spread the joy.... even though they were explicitly told not to do so. OOPS!

Tags: TV, news, media