Posted on 01/04/2006 3:57:30 AM PST by Erik Latranyi
Once again, the MSM (mainstream media)has exposed its complete lack of credibility, decency, morality and integrity.
The story this morning of the trapped West Virginia miners is just another example of how our primary sources of information cannot be trusted.
Let's face facts, folks....even here at FR, we get our information from the MSM. However, by assembling many sources and then testing those sources against the combined experiences of those on this forum, we determine whether a particular story passes the smell test.
However, in order to separate the wheat from the chaff, we must still have some faith in some of the sources of stories we read. Unfortunately, that faith is continually shaken by the exposing of media bias, sloppiness, immorality, etc.
What appears to have happened this morning with the trapped miners story is that some members of the media were in the vicinity of the command post when the radio call from the mine came back that the miners were found.
It was from that single thread of information that the story appeared to break out that the miners were all found alive. Even the governor, who stated he had to ask his security detail what was going on , was not aware of the breaking story that all 12 remaining miners were found alive. You see, the governor was in the church with the families. A single family member received a phone call from someone watching the news that it is was being reported that all 12 remaining miners were found alive. That family member announced the news to the others in the church and then the bells started ringing.
The media will hide behind the "unconfirmed report" label that was ignored. The media will refuse to take responsibility (most are liberals after all) for toying with the lives and hearts of the families of those who were lost. The media will refuse to acknowledge any need to show concern for those waiting nearly 2 days for news about their loved ones, but will talk about the need to be first with the story.
Just like Hurricane Katrina reports about rapes and murders and 10,000 dead, the media has demonstrated that facts do not matter.
Just like on 9-11, when the media was reporting at least 10,000 dead in the twin towers.
Just like, just like, just like..........
So, let us use this space to compile a list of the media mistakes. Let us make this the news and let us refer back to this thread whenever a news story breaks and our "trusted" sources get it wrong----again.
This media circus reminds me of an old Kirk Douglas movie that I saw. When I saw Whore-Aldo Rivera on FOX running up to miner families with a microphone in his hand I flashed back to that movie and slime ball reporter that Kirk Douglas portrayed.
Ace in the Hole (AKA The Big Carnival) (1951)
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling Director: Billy Wilder Rating:
Storyline
Genres: Drama, Film-Noir
Plot Outline: When a man is trapped alive in a mine collapse, a self-interested reporter and the townspeople cynically create what we now call a "media circus".
Plot Synopsis: One of several literary and artistic works based on events surrounding the 1925 entrapment and death of W. Floyd Collins in Sand Cave, Ky. See also Robert Penn Warren's novel _The Cave_
http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/379/379350p1.html
Ace in the Hole (a.k.a. The Big Carnival), 1951, co-wr/dir. Billy Wilder. This is a deeply cynical Film Noir sadly based on an actual 1925 tragedy. Charles Tatum (Douglas) is a down-on-his-luck, obnoxious journalist who once worked for a big city newspaper but is now stuck at a small town paper in New Mexico. The hard-drinking Tatum finds his meal-ticket back to the big leagues when a miner named Leo Minosa becomes trapped in a cave-in.
Tatum hypes the event into a national news story, engineering a lucrative media frenzy and a despicable public circus while also duping Minosa into believing he's his savior. Even though Minosa could be rescued more quickly by shoring up the cave's tunnels, Tatum, who's eager to keep this "big carnival" in town, convinces the rescuers to employ a lengthier drilling process instead. Going along with Tatum's ambitious plan is Minosa's greedy and conniving wife (Jan Sterling) who's looking to cash in on her unanticipated notoriety. Tatum's plan, however, goes tragically awry. The final low-angle shot of Tatum collapsing into frame symbolizes his self-propelled downfall.
Ace in the Hole is a grim but eerily prescient look at the media's unquenchable thirst for "the big story" and the public's willingness to play along. Wilder mercilessly eviscerates the gawking masses that set up shop to commercialize Minosa's tragedy. Although a box office flop in its day, Ace remains a relentless indictment of the public's and the media's appetite for entertainment and fortune even at the expense of human life.
God, I hate this finger pointing more than anything. Instead of standing at each others side during a time of trial, we all go running off trying to find out who was to blame.
Death is part of life, and dying is going to happen. Nobody would deliberately kill these men. We just need to wait and find out the facts. Unfortunately facts don't seem to matter much anymore.
The families were coming out of the church and telling the reporters that "They said that the men are alive." The families sounded as though they had gotten an announcement from someone in the church.
They'll wish they had some of that duct tape they sneered at a few years back.
"It is terribly sad, but everyone jumped the gun because it was what they wanted to hear."
Well said.
Here is another thing to think about as well, it took the mine officals nearly 3 hours to correct the false story. My question is why?
20 minutes after the church was celebrating the "great news" the officals knew that the church had the story wrong. So, 20 minutes turn into nearly 3 hours before the "offical story" is given to the church.
Someone told me it takes time to make sure that all 12 were indeed dead, and that sounds resonable- but 3 hours? I don't think so.
What was going on for 3 hours that one person could not go into the church and correct the false story?
Exactly. And it completely refutes their criticism of blogs.
Anybody can be wrong (just look at me), but I don't claim to be infallible. They do. Worse they just ignore and blow past their gross errors and distortions. For example, the WaPo still hasn't responded to the numerous and very detailed criticisms of their sliming of Roggio that was riddled with blatant factual errors. (do a google of roggio "washington post" for complete details)
We got our share of moonbats, no doubt.
"Again, I am not blaming the reporters or the reports, but rather saying that if they had adhered to the accepted standard(s) for their profession we would not be having this discussion."
With that I have to agree with you 100%.
It was not my intention to impy the MSM has no blame. I wanted to make sure that the people who thought that the press started this story and spead it to the families knew that was not the case.
This is a sad story all around and there will be many to blame in the end. The press once again got it wrong and there is no doubting that because it is fact.
BTW, I think you write very well. I end up losing it half way through. LOL
I agree, the MSM did not CONFIRM the news with the mining company which would have been the authority to distribute any factual info.
Perhaps they should have CONFIRMED the story. They could have reported that the families were reciving good news but that they haven't confirmed it yet.
I think a lot of people are just trying to figure out what happened. It's important. Once we find out what happened, we can figure out how to, possibly, keep it from happening again.
Imagine if instead of wanting to be first, they wanted to report factual news. If even ONE news outlet stepped up and said we cannot confirm this but will report what other news outlets are saying they would now be the only news outlet that could say they reported facts, not innuendo or "overheard" communications from third party sources.
Probably because no one wanted to say, "that isn't true" without being able to say what WAS true. It takes time to find out what the whole situation is. You don't want to compound the problem by giving out more misinformation.
Perhaps they were thinking that it was all news hype and that "real" family members knew to wait for official news?
We are impatient for information. I've read threads on this very forum complaining that CNN has the story - why doesn't FOX?
Perhaps this tragic story will give us all pause.
May God bless those poor folks in WV
Must keep that in mind. Not defending the media because I despise 9/10's of them. The media are not the ones who told the families that 12 survived. They told the rest of the world that without confirming....as per usual.
You ask most people and they'll tell you that thousands died in the convention center, and they will tell you that people were being killed and starved. That's because nobody every corrected the record to the same extent they covered the error. What's that old saying again? "A lie can make it around the world before the truth gets it's pants on".
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