US news media caught up in erroneous happy ending

[UpInArms]

http://today.reuters.com/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=uri:2006-01-05T030654Z_01_N046228_RTRIDST_0_MINERALS-EXPLOSION-MEDIA.XML

LOS ANGELES, Jan 4 (Reuters) - U.S. news outlets defended their coverage of the fatal West Virginia mine accident on Wednesday, saying misinformed authorities, not the media, were to blame for erroneously reporting that 12 victims had miraculously survived.

News that all but one of 13 trapped miners had actually perished, which came three hours after the opposite outcome was mistakenly reported, left network anchors and newspaper editors hard-pressed to explain how they all had gotten the story wrong.

Some critics suggested the media were driven by a mix of sloppy journalism, a herd mentality among "celebrity anchors" and the irresistible allure of a happy ending.

<snip>

The ABC News "Nightline" broadcast, delayed on the East Coast by college football and local news until 1:40 a.m. (0640 GMT), also went live with a report of 12 survivors but got the correct story on the air in time for its West Coast feed.

NBC ran a network "crawl" about midnight, attributed to relatives of trapped miners, reporting 12 survivors but updated its report at 3:20 a.m. EST (0820 GMT). CBS did not break into programming or run a crawl with the initial erroneous report. The network declined to say why it kept the original reports, which turned out to be wrong, off the air.

...more...

All those stupid networks have been given their orders: Do the "Happy Happy Joy Joy" talk and don't talk about the "bad" stuff.

:argh:

Bravo for CBS for not running with the pack :thumbsup:

[xultar]

1. CNN has gone absolutely MAD. It's like a song set on repeat for them.

?They can't shake it off. WTF is wrong with them?

[SoCalDem]

9. Cooper last night: " Where did you hear the news?" guy: "On CNN"

Cooper: "Great you watched the right channel"..me :puke:

this was before the bad news came out.

[doc03]

2. That stinking liberal CBS News got it right, imagine

what would happen if Faux News had made the right call.

[linazelle]

8. You mean "See B.S." Don't you?

:eyes: That's how "THEY" say it.

[beltanefauve]

3. "We're not in the fiction business"

"CNN reporters believed the facts. We're not looking for endings that are either happy or sad, because we're not in the fiction business." - Jonathan Klein, CNN

Oh really????

The more likely scenario, IMHO: "Some critics suggested the media were driven by a mix of sloppy journalism, a herd mentality among "celebrity anchors" and the irresistible allure of a happy ending."

[American liberal]

4. The quote at the end made me laugh out loud

"We are not in the fiction business," said a CNN executive.

Sure could have fooled me... :rofl:

[rocktivity]

5. The wrong AP story is STILL up at Newsweek.com

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usmine0103,0,7877247.story?coll=ny-homepage-bigpix2005">12 miners found alive
TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. -- Twelve miners caught in an explosion in a coal mine were found alive late Tuesday, more than 41 hours after the blast, family members said.

...Neither the company nor the governor's office immediately confirmed that the men were alive.

But if they KNEW they DIDN'T have official confirmation, WHY THE HELL DID THEY ALL RUN THE STORY???

:grr:
rocknation

[rocktivity]

10. Fixed link

12 Miners Found Alive

:headbang:
rocknation

[blackhorse]

6. Well, I for one am glad ...

... that the lamestream media clarified their stance: They don't mind being shameless propaganda outlets, but they don't enjoy appearing to be plainly stupid and incompetent.

It is time for these evil circuses to come off the air and be replaced by something resembling real news programs.

Cheers

BH

[TahitiNut]

7. When I went to bed after the 'happy' news, I KNEW something was fishy.

I never bought it. It was just too contrived and thin. I really wanted to feel good for the miners and their families (my grandfather was a black-balled UMW organizer in WV, KY, & OH), but I just shook my head and didn't buy the story. Sure enough - wake up this morning and soon find out my misgivings (7th sense?) were right. Sometimes it's just not heartening to be right.