In case you’ve been sleeping off New Years all week, a dozen miners were trapped in a West Virginia coalmine following an explosion on Monday. After 42 hours, rescue teams finally located the men and news spread of their miraculous survival. Unfortunately, the rescue teams never said they’d located the men ALIVE. This glorious miscommunication, which was irresponsibly broadcast by an eager media all over the country, resulted in much anguish when it was discovered that 11 of the 12 miners were actually dead. It was like the 2000 election all over again – journalists jumping the gun in a mad dash to break the news, more concerned with being first than being accurate.
This is the danger of words. Once uttered, they spread like brushfires and can prove impossible to contain. Reputations get ruined. Hearts get broken. Minds get poisoned. News agencies in particular, because of their ability to influence so many lives so quickly, must find a way to be more responsible with words.
I, on the other hand, have free rein to be as irresponsible with words as I want. I am just a silly monkey.
I poop now.
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2 comments:
Hey T-Daddy...as a member of the media, I feel obligated to point out that the media wasn't so irresponsible as much as the Governor. He was the one who told the media, and he heard the info from a volunteer at the site who heard the search people on a cell phone. Unfortunately, HE didn't confirm it and the media didn't really go above him...I'd hope that I wouldn't need to check into anything that the Governor says (unless it's the Governator!).
I don't think it hurts to check into what ANYBODY says - governors include. After all, we've got a president who said there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
But I can certainly understand how news folks on the scene rushed to print the good news given that it was relayed by a presumed authority figure. There's always more than enough irresponsibility to go around!
Speaking of irresponsibility, I think I left the toilet seat up in the bathroom - gotta run!
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