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January 4, 2006
Same subject, different emotion
A day after initial reports indicated that there were 12 survivors in a West Virginia mine, emotions of jubilee changed quickly to shock, despair and anger. Although it is in the opinion of this blogger that the broadcast media is not free of blame for turning rumor into truth, it is more the fault of the mining agency for not correcting the record as soon as it became apparent that what was being reported, and more importantly celebrated by family and friends, was not necessarily the case.
Breaking news e-mails began to fill my e-mail inbox at 12:08 this morning when the BBC sent a bulletin with the subject "Trapped US miners found alive." Within seconds ABC News sent an e-mail stating "12 MEN TRAPPED IN WEST VIRGINIA MINE REPORTEDLY FOUND ALIVE." Only CBS News used any form of discretion with the story when at 12:09 a.m., the same time ABC News sent out its email, the news agency stated "Relatives of the trapped miners in Tallsmanville, W. Va., say 12 of the miners have been found alive - authorities have not yet confirmed or denied this report" in an e-mail bulletin. Other e-mails followed thereafter.
The reason I chose to focus on print journalism rather than television journalism is because it has been my observation that print journalism is better researched, prepared and accurate. There was no reason ABC News or any other news agency had to jump the metaphorical gun and report that 12 men had survived the mine catastrophe. Not only did the information disseminated by the trusted news agencies misinform the public but lead to an ultimate deeper pain of victims' families.
With that said, I realize newspapers are not free from criticism. The Connecticut Post did lead today's paper with the headline "12 miners found alive." However this was only because the print edition of the Post had to be sent to print before news of the contrary had been discovered -- unlike the broadcast news agencies that have the ability to update the story constantly.
It is also worth noting that the Connecticut Post did not send out any e-mail claiming the miners were alive. The Post, in fact, held back on running its lead item until after West Virginia's governor Joe Manchin confirmed the miners had been found alive.
Rather than waiting for such confirmation, which later turned out to be incorrect, the broadcast media decided to run with nothing more than rumors and what we would all have liked to have liked happen.
Nobody won last night -- not CNN whose Anderson Cooper stood confidently and arrogantly before the camera on both CNN and CNN Headline News and said 12 miners were alive; not Fox News who followed CNN in proclaiming a miracle had happened.
While it is true that everything is much more clear after a crisis than during, it is also true that while Aaron Brown sat in the lead anchor chair at CNN he was criticized for laboring too long with his choice of words. Perhaps if the news network that proclaims itself "the most trusted name in news," and the network I turn to whenever news breaks first, understood that journalism was not about being first but rather accurate, America's media would not be in the position it is the evening after the media's biggest debacle since the 2000 elections.
However, with that all said, the mining company was the party most responsible for spreading falls jubilation throughout West Virginia, America and the world. If, after seeing that CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ABC News and CBS News had the story wrong, they had the obligation to correct it. From initial indications, officials realized the error in reporting within 30 minutes of initial reports and did nothing until 2:40 a.m. Shame on them for letting families and friends set themselves up for suffering that got worse every second they believed their loved ones were somehow alive.
If these individuals chose the compassionate route, newspapers across the country would not have made the same mistake that their broadcast counterparts made and the deep pain of the victims' families may not have been as bad.
Posted by Jamie on 6:28 PM
12 inspirations
Approximately 30 minutes ago CNN broke the news that 12 miners were alive in a West Virginia mine. After some doubt and channel and radio surfing, I came to the realization that 12 people, 12 friends, 12 family members, 12 souls that could have easily been dead were instead alive. This realization gave me a feeling of awe; it inspired me.
The reality that 12 individuals - not so different than my friends or me - could have survived such horrific conditions really made me think. My biggest problems today consist of paying relatively low credit card bills and securing a job upon graduation. When placed next to the sky-high struggles the miners persevered through, I feel kind of silly thinking and worrying so much about my own problems.
These aforementioned 12 miners did not allow the loss of a fellow miner deter them from surviving so many elements that could have easily stolen their lives.
I hope that if and when a day comes when circumstances reach the point where my very survival is at risk I can respond with as much perseverance and wise choices as those individuals that will be emerging shortly from the depths of the earth.
For the miner who lost his or her life earlier today I sent my prayers to that miner and his or her family.
I believe the most significant element associated with this story is that life is short and even though I am still young, I may not necessarily die an old death. I must seize the moment and live life to its fullest every living moment.
Posted by Jamie on 12:30 AM
January 2, 2006
Text messaging: Wave of the future
Text messaging has become one of my primary forms of communication between my friends and colleagues at my college newspaper. For a better idea of how much they can vary in subject I assembled a random variety of text messages that are in my inbox.
These are unedited and do not list the sender’s name or date sent to protect the senders' privacy. This may be the best way of showing the variety of hundreds of text messages I have received since early November:
“Creepy beach?�
“Just wanted to tell ya that my sister is going into labor! I am waiting for my aunt and uncle to get me and heading home woohoo! TTYL�
“Silly goose, bags do not taste good.�
“I try to keep Jamie happy.�
“Just driving the 74628216th nail into the coffin.�
“I’m big pimpin’ up in NYC�
“Word�
“Thank you! You too!�
“Yeah hey are. All the good stuff is done in back rooms.�
“Hey in case you didn’t see my IM, I wanted to let you know that I accepted the job offer, meaning I will be in the NY area next year.�
“Thanks Jamie! I hope it wasn’t the food too. It was so good. Thank you again!�
“Yes I put some in the student center but not in their correct stand so you may want to fix that later. Sorry. Enjoy class � say hi to nancy!�
“Where did you go to?�
“For a photo essay see QUChronicle.com�
“My radio is working again! Yay me. Good lunch, jon is nice. Tom. We need to discuss presents.�
“Drinks on me. Bar near creepy beach?�
“Are the roads bad?�
“Did you say you would talk to prep seniors?�
“What be yer plans for tomorrow yarrr�
“Quack! Hope poker is fun. The spa place was closed again when I tried to go.�
“lol you are crazy. Lay off the booze. Lol I’m off to bed. G’night.�
“Oh hun thank you merry Christmas to your family as well hope to talk to you soon miss you! TTYS�
“question – am I still in your space�
“Merry Christmas! I hope you’ve been a good boy all year & that santa rewards you for it. Too bad it is not a white x-mas. Oh well. Hope the reindeers don’t wake you.�
“Free around 3�
“What are you doing this week? Beach?�
“When are you free?�
“I’ll watch the door from my car.�
“Should I say I hadn’t seen it EITHER? :-D�
“I’m following u at adistance.�
“Let me know when there’s a knowing to know.�
“I’m sorry.�
“What’s going on?�
“I left jon’s gift in your car!�
“Sounds good, I’ll confirm asap, what time?�
“You’re missing lizzie.�
“Just woke up. I had the dates confused and am free all day.�
“I’m free now.�
“Hotels are really cheap tomorrow�
“What are your plans for the night now, any better ideas than sit and be bored?�
“Amen�
“Happy New Year!�
“I’m having lunch now in New Haven but I’ll be free in an hour or less.�
“Hahahaha neil diamond is on here too.�
Posted by Jamie on 2:52 PM | Comments (1)
