Today's headlines in the print editions of the New York Times, USA Today and no doubt several others across the country announced the news that the 12 of the miners trapped in West Virginia were found alive.
Problem is, we now know all but one are dead. For three hours, the cable news channels and newspaper Web sites were reporting that the miners had been rescued alive. Many of the stories - many still glaring from the front pages of the print editions - reported this news with little doubt or qualifications that the news wasn't confirmed. Instead, they ran with it.
An Editor & Publisher story explains: "It is unclear why the media carried the news without nailed-down sourcing. Some reports claim the early reports spread via cell phones and when loved ones, and the governor, started celebrating most in the media simply joined in."
After the reports were corrected, TV stations and newspapers apparently scrambled to correct it, some stopping the presses, some adding hedge words to the stories, and some rewriting the news entirely. But, according to E&P, few explained why they decided to run with the story without confirming the rumors. And now the news media is disgraced, and the miner's families are on an emotional rollercoaster.
Something tells me it has to do with the pressures to get the story first, heightened by the 24-hour news channels and Web sites. I am certainly not an editor faced with making this decision, but really there should be no excuse for misreporting any news - particularly that with such painful repercussions.
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