They raised the hopes of millions based on a rumor in the name of sensationalism and ratings. Can the media actually be trusted to report the facts any more? Could they ever be trusted?
Comments
See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.
D.M.B.
January 4, 2006 at 4:46PM
how can you blame that on the media? When the information that they’re alive comes from mineing officials AND family memebers, how can you blame the media for spreading the news? The mining officials are supposed to be the ones releasing the information. That’s where they are getting their information. If you expect to check the pulses of the victims themselves, you won’t get your news. Unfortunately in this day and age of technology, people are connected at a moments notice. Blame miscommunication from the source, blame people for over reacting. Don’t blame the media.
Mr. Wilson
January 4, 2006 at 5:25PM
How can I blame the media? Quite easily. Nobody in the media bothered to check the facts. Media reports even acknowledged that, inserting little blurbs along the lines of “this news agency did not confirm this information with mining officials”. And yet they ran the hyped story anyway.
I don’t blame the media for the initial hype. I blame them for perpetuating it based only on rumor and speculation. (Mass murder at the Superdome, anyone?)
That being said, the last thing I read suggested that the mining company officials waited a couple hours after they heard about the misinformation before they corrected it. There’s certainly an excuse for a small delay—they would want to absolutely positively confirm the deaths—but I would think no more than 30 minutes after finding out about the false hubbub would be sufficient to make the facts clear.
D.M.B.
January 4, 2006 at 8:03PM
Ok so you’re saying that a news that is 1 hour old isn’t enough to run a story? 2 hours? 3 hours? What I’m saying is that everything that happened there pointed towards the miners being alive (church bells, family members on the scene HAPPY, I saw a clip of the priest singing and cheering) In a business where you lose your job when you don’t get the story. Now I didn’t see the initial reports last night. So I don’t know how the networks first reported it. But from all the bits of information that they were getting yesterday…how did the media go wrong?
Mr. Wilson
January 4, 2006 at 8:22PM
<em>Ok so you
foxspit
January 4, 2006 at 8:37PM
This is the problem with broadcast news, particularly television. Reporters rush to the scene to be a part of the news story then they are compelled to blather on about complete conjecture because the cameras are rolling. If you analyze what they’re telling you, less than 10 percent is actual news.
I may be wrong, but I got the impression that family members may have spread the news that the miners were alive. And they appear to have obtained that news by overhearing conversations to which they were not privvy.
This is an awful tragedy and is a result of what can happen when the priority is to rush to broadcast before prioritizing accuracy.
I have long condemned innacurrate television news reporting but I can’t blame them entirely for this fiasco.
Why isn’t broadcast journalism held to the same standards as print journalism?
D.M.B.
January 4, 2006 at 9:44PM
What I’m saying is that the media is the LEAST at fault in this whole situation. They reported on what they saw and what they heard, that they were alive. The info they got all pointed towards them being alive. If the families of the ones buried in the mine had the wrong information, how can you expect the news to have the correct information? These people are supposed to be the most important people in this whole ordeal besides the ones in the mine? There is not much better source than a happy family member? Yes confirmation from the mining officials would have been best but THEY JUST FOUND THE BODIES! And if the reports are true that they knew that within 30 mins that false info was out there, why not make a statement? I put the blame squarely on the mining company for letting this false info out.
D.M.B.
January 5, 2006 at 3:25AM
Quote from the AP article in the LJS frin Gov. Joe Manchin:
“They told us they have 12 alive.”
Who is giving the Gov of West Virginia his info? The news media? no. It’s the mining corp and his people on the scene.
How can you blame the media when the Gov. got the same info and came out publicly and said that they’re alive?
foxspit
January 5, 2006 at 4:50PM
This is a perfect example of why news products are deteriorating. The public does not hold the media accountable for accuracy.
I believe the media reported what it was told at the mining tragedy. But that is also part of the problem.
The media should be more than a mouthpiece to simply regurgitate what it has been told, it should be reporting facts that have been verified. That may not change the reporting of the mining tragedy, but it would improve the overall news product.
Comments
See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.
how can you blame that on the media? When the information that they’re alive comes from mineing officials AND family memebers, how can you blame the media for spreading the news? The mining officials are supposed to be the ones releasing the information. That’s where they are getting their information. If you expect to check the pulses of the victims themselves, you won’t get your news. Unfortunately in this day and age of technology, people are connected at a moments notice. Blame miscommunication from the source, blame people for over reacting. Don’t blame the media.
How can I blame the media? Quite easily. Nobody in the media bothered to check the facts. Media reports even acknowledged that, inserting little blurbs along the lines of “this news agency did not confirm this information with mining officials”. And yet they ran the hyped story anyway.
I don’t blame the media for the initial hype. I blame them for perpetuating it based only on rumor and speculation. (Mass murder at the Superdome, anyone?)
That being said, the last thing I read suggested that the mining company officials waited a couple hours after they heard about the misinformation before they corrected it. There’s certainly an excuse for a small delay—they would want to absolutely positively confirm the deaths—but I would think no more than 30 minutes after finding out about the false hubbub would be sufficient to make the facts clear.
Ok so you’re saying that a news that is 1 hour old isn’t enough to run a story? 2 hours? 3 hours? What I’m saying is that everything that happened there pointed towards the miners being alive (church bells, family members on the scene HAPPY, I saw a clip of the priest singing and cheering) In a business where you lose your job when you don’t get the story. Now I didn’t see the initial reports last night. So I don’t know how the networks first reported it. But from all the bits of information that they were getting yesterday…how did the media go wrong?
<em>Ok so you
This is the problem with broadcast news, particularly television. Reporters rush to the scene to be a part of the news story then they are compelled to blather on about complete conjecture because the cameras are rolling. If you analyze what they’re telling you, less than 10 percent is actual news.
I may be wrong, but I got the impression that family members may have spread the news that the miners were alive. And they appear to have obtained that news by overhearing conversations to which they were not privvy.
This is an awful tragedy and is a result of what can happen when the priority is to rush to broadcast before prioritizing accuracy.
I have long condemned innacurrate television news reporting but I can’t blame them entirely for this fiasco.
Why isn’t broadcast journalism held to the same standards as print journalism?
What I’m saying is that the media is the LEAST at fault in this whole situation. They reported on what they saw and what they heard, that they were alive. The info they got all pointed towards them being alive. If the families of the ones buried in the mine had the wrong information, how can you expect the news to have the correct information? These people are supposed to be the most important people in this whole ordeal besides the ones in the mine? There is not much better source than a happy family member? Yes confirmation from the mining officials would have been best but THEY JUST FOUND THE BODIES! And if the reports are true that they knew that within 30 mins that false info was out there, why not make a statement? I put the blame squarely on the mining company for letting this false info out.
Quote from the AP article in the LJS frin Gov. Joe Manchin:
“They told us they have 12 alive.”
Who is giving the Gov of West Virginia his info? The news media? no. It’s the mining corp and his people on the scene.
How can you blame the media when the Gov. got the same info and came out publicly and said that they’re alive?
This is a perfect example of why news products are deteriorating. The public does not hold the media accountable for accuracy.
I believe the media reported what it was told at the mining tragedy. But that is also part of the problem.
The media should be more than a mouthpiece to simply regurgitate what it has been told, it should be reporting facts that have been verified. That may not change the reporting of the mining tragedy, but it would improve the overall news product.
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