In one of the most disturbing media performances of its kind in recent years, television and newspapers carried the tragically wrong news late Tuesday and early Wednesday that 12 of 13 trapped coal miners in West Virginia had been found alive and safe. Hours later they had to reverse course, often blaming the mix-up on "miscommunication."
For hours, starting just before midnight, newspaper reporters and anchors such as MSNBC's Rita Cosby interviewed euphoric loved ones and helped spread the news about the miracle rescue. Newspaper Web sites announced the happy news and many put it into print for Wednesday right at late deadlines. "They're Alive!" screamed the banner headline in the Indianapolis Star. Even the Los Angeles Times, three hours behind on the West Coast, carried the front page headline: "Suddenly There is Joy: 12 Miners Found Alive." The Boston Globe at least added a qualifier to its banner hed: "12 Miners Reportedly Found Alive."
In many cases, the same papers stopped the presses later, after tens of thousands of copies were printed and distributed, to carry the correct report. USA Today, for example, printed an update under the headline: "Official: 1 Miner Survived."
Some editors blamed officials, including the governor, for misleading reporters. In reality, rescuers had only confirmed finding 12 miners and were checking their vital signs. But what leaked out to anxious family members was that 12 were found alive. According to some reports, the coal company knew that the early reports were false 20 minutes after they started circulating, but did not quickly correct them.
A coal company spokesman later explained, ''Let's put this in perspective. Who do I tell not to celebrate? I didn't know if there were 12 or 1 [who were alive].''
The Washington Post story by Ann Scott Tyson, which appeared on the front page, opened: "A dozen miners trapped 12,000 feet into a mountainside since early Monday were found alive Tuesday night just hours after rescuers found the body of a 13th man, who had died in an explosion in an adjacent coal mine that was sealed off in early December."PROGRESSION OF AP HEADLINES
Families Say 12 W.Va. Miners Found Alive (11:59 PM)
12 Trapped W.Va. Miners Found Alive (12:34 AM)
Singing Erupts After Miners Found Alive (2:49 AM)
Families Say 11 of 12 W.Va. Miners Dead (3:06 AM)
Miners Reported Alive After Blast Are Dead (4:08 AM)
12 Confirmed Dead in W.Va. Mine Blast (5:26 AM)
Feds Vow Full Probe of W.Va. Mine Blast (6:58 AM)
Jubiliation [sic] Turns to Anger, Outrage (7:20 AM)
Later in the story, she even added this explanation: "The miners had apparently done what they had been taught to do: barricaded themselves in a pocket with breathable air and awaited rescue."
The New York Times story on the Web by James Dao was also headlined with no doubt raised: "12 Miners Found Alive 41 Hours After Explosion." The story, which also ran in print on Page One, pulled back a bit from reporting the news as proven fact: "Forty-one hours after an explosion trapped 13 men in a West Virginia coal mine here, family members and a state official said 12 of the miners had been found alive Tuesday night.
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