Erroneous news worsened tragedy

There's only one thing more emotionally painful than learning a loved one has been killed in a terrible accident. It's being told the loved one survived, and then learning later that he didn't - jubilation followed by a profound letdown, then rage and, finally, disbelieving despondency.

This was the horrible roller-coaster experience for the families of 12 of 13 miners who died in the wake of West Virginia's coal mine explosion Monday. The accident itself was tragic enough - 13 miners apparently survived the blast, then 12 died from carbon monoxide poisoning while still trapped 260 feet below the surface of the mine; the 13th was rescued in critical condition.

Wrong information got out when some people overheard rescuers on a cell phone telling rescue command the miners had been found and were being checked for vital signs - not that any of the miners were alive.

Somehow from that conversation the story quickly swept through the Sago community that all but one of the miners had been found alive. Even West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin believed this, further spreading the good news.

The real news, however, was that the good news was an erroneous rumor. Yet for three hours, coal mine officials let the good news celebrations go on unabated, even though they knew it probably wasn't true.

Officials said they kept mum until they were sure of what all the miners' condition was. That was wrong. They should have announced that the "news" there were 12 survivors could not be verified. Had they shared this with victims' families, hopes would have not been raised so high only to be so cruelly dashed hours later.

The conditions that caused the mine explosion will be investigated and, hopefully, corrected in the future.

Also deserving of public scrutiny is how information is disseminated in this era of instantaneous communications - particularly in regard to high interest, fast-moving news stories such as a mine explosion with fatalities.

It's understandable why a public accustomed to instantaneous gratification wants to get its information in a hurry. But in fluid, changing and emotional emergencies, this impatience must give way to forbearance - a recognition that instant news may be misinformed. False rumors or lies then take hold, and we can see in West Virginia what misery that leads to. Be patient; the truth, even when it hurts, is worth waiting for.

The press has a responsibility here, too. It should be more skeptical about information it reports in crisis situations. Who in the media thought to confirm that 12 miners had survived? They simply reported the rumor, which turned out to be false. Their excuse is they were reporting "breaking news" - news in the making.

It doesn't wash. Sloppy reporting is sloppy reporting. It's always better to get it right than to get it quickly.