West Va Miners

[Beta]

Thoughts and prayers out to the families involved with the terrible West Va Mining tragedy. I cant even imagine the pain felt with the miscommunication that occured on top of everything else.

[KnoxVegas]

The cover of this morning's USA Today is pretty shocking:
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/news_notes/mining_tragedy_30316.asp

And the media hounds that have been exploiting these people are disgusting. Particularly those one's who have lost all objectivity and have been encouraging the families to sue the mine company. Whilst the tragedy is still fresh and all the facts are not in, it is not the time further stir up the pot.

[PigPen]

pretty unexcusable with the way the families were leaked the wrong info. got me thinking about coal mining (coming from a mining family myself)-these guys died relatively quickly.... it's sad how we never hear about the guys that die of black lung, and how long that takes. My prayers to all the families. Shame on the media!

[laxfan25]

pretty unexcusable with the way the families were leaked the wrong info.

I don't think you can say they were "leaked" the wrong info. In that kind of situation, misinformation can spread like wildfire. My understanding is that someone heard a message on a speaker in the mine and spread the word to the church. I'm sure it wasn't the company doing it to raise hopes. The president of the company felt bad that they didn't squelch it quicker (supposedly they knew it was likely wrong about 45 minutes later, but wanted to be sure of the facts).
It was a tragic turn, and I'm no apologist for mining companies. (PigPen, you ever see the documentary "Harlan County USA"? Incredible, powerful story. Rent it if you haven't seen it. with your background it would be riveting.)
The rest of the story about the media just reflects the insatiable thirst for news/gossip/rumor/celebrity that drives the 24/7 cable news industry.