Get Over It

In Virgina the news of a mining accident and the loss of 12 miners has hit the community there hard. My sympathies go out to the families.

However, watching CNN today I could not get over how much emphasis they were putting on the fact that during the rescue effort a mistake in communication was made and the families were told incorrectly that 12 of the 13 miners had survived when in fact the opposite was true. While I agree that the families involved have every right to be upset after their hopes were raised and then dashed hours later, I find the fascination the news agencies have over the miscommunication to be ridiculous.

Note to CNN et al.: Get over it. Someone made an error, but this is not the most newsworthy thing in the world or even your country to talk about. Heck, its not even the most important part of this story. What about the mine's safety record? What caused the accident? How about the survivor? The miscommunication is the least important aspect of this story yet they have three pieces in 10 minutes on it. The way they are reporting it one would think that the incorrect report was responsible for the deaths itself!

If this is held up as a prime example of what passes for news reporting today while a corrupt and morally bankrupt government acts with seeming impunity, then I fear for our civilization.

Rant mode off.