Thoughtless in West Virginia
Was there yet another big media failure overnight when the 12 WV coal miners were reported to have been found alive, setting off jubilation among the families and friends of those miners? Well, I suppose so.
In one of the most disturbing media performances of its kind in recent years, TV news and many newspapers carried the tragically wrong news late Tuesday and early Wednesday that 12 of 13 trapped coal miners in West Virginia had been found alive and safe. Hours later they had to reverse course.
But.
In this case I'm much less concerned that for three hours overnight newspapers and tv/cable networks repeated the story without "getting it right" than I am with the folks in control of the operation, the mining company and state/local officials in charge of the rescue effort. They knew 20 minutes after word of a successful rescue began to spread that the reports were wrong, and they did nothing to correct the misimpression for over 2 and a half hours. Their excuse reason?
Some editors blamed officials, including the governor, for misleading reporters. In reality, rescuers had only confirmed finding 12 miners--and were checking their vital signs. But what leaked out to anxious family members was that 12 were found alive. The coal company, it later admitted, knew that the early reports were false 20 minutes after they started circulating, but did not quickly correct them.A coal company spokesman explained, ''Let's put this in perspective. Who do I tell not to celebrate? I didn't know if there were 12 or 1 [who were alive].''
I think the answer to that question is astonishingly easy -- if you don't know who to tell not to celebrate, you tell them ALL not to celebrate. Yeah, the media got it wrong because they engaged in group-think. The coal company got it wrong because they engaged in no-think.
My heart goes out to the survivors of those miners. As for the coal company, my brain goes out to them -- they certainly need it.
[Linked to the Beltway Traffic Jam.]