THE WORST POSSIBLE SCENARIO, OR, THAT'S WHY THEY HAVE WEB SITES

Florida newspapers, like many across much of the United States, were caught unknowingly early Wednesday morning, publishing the wrong information on a major story. Of course, I'm referring to the tragedy which took the lives of 12 West Virginia coal miners. As many of you know by now, it was initally announced --- even by the state's governor --- that 12 of the 13 trapped miners were alive. Sadly, there was miscommunication between rescuers and the command centre, and the actual story didn't come out for several hours.

Newspapers have to go to press relatively early --- around 1:00 AM --- in order to ensure that it gets to your door or store on time. By the time of the announcement that the miners were dead, the press run had ended and many newspapers were enroute to distributors and delivery drivers.

Still, it was embarassing for many editors, many of whom across Florida held the presses a half hour or so for the end of the Orange Bowl game.

Some examples of headlines Floridians saw yesterday:

Daytona Beach News Journal, Bradenton Herald: "12 Miners Found Alive"

Florida Today (Melbourne): "Miner Miracle: 12 Alive"

Lakeland Ledger: "12 Coal Miners Are Found Alive"

Orlando Sentinel, St. Petersburg Times: "They're Alive"

Tampa Tribune: "12 Miners Survive Ordeal"

St. Petersburg Times media critic Eric Deggans wrote about the inaccurate reports in his column today, and noted what happened in the case of his publication:

At the Times, once editors saw an Associated Press story around midnight Tuesday featuring comments from (West Virginia governor Joe) Manchin confirming 12 survivors, they approved a headline reading " "They're Alive' " for a 1 a.m. deadline, said managing editor Stephen Buckley. The Times, like many East Coast newspapers, did correct its Web site by 3:30 a.m.

"There was nothing in the stories or on broadcast that made us think we shouldn't be putting this story in the paper," said Buckley. "I think we did the best we could under the circumstances."

Lakeland Ledger Executive Editor Skip Perez wrote:

Shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday, a sports desk editor called to seek guidance about delaying the press start because the game wasn't over. I checked the TV and suggested we wait a few more minutes and I would call back. And he added, "Oh, and they found the coal miners alive.

"What great news, I thought. It'll be a happy story on the front page for a change. Five minutes later, the game was over. We started our presses at 1:24 a.m....There was a three-hour delay between the first widespread news reports -- based on family members' statements -- shortly before midnight and The Associated Press "Bulletin" at 2:56 a.m. announcing that family members reported that 12 of the miners "who were initially thought to have survived an explosion in a coal mine have died.

"We were caught, as most news organizations across the country, in that dreaded window of misinformation on a major story at the worst possible time.

By 2:56 a.m. our Newsroom was empty, the press run was finished and the papers were headed to your driveways and news racks. (The story was updated at 6 a.m. Wednesday on our Web site.)

The only major Florida newspaper that didn't get caught was the Ledger's sister newspaper, the Gainesville Sun. Their headline read "Hope Dims For Trapped Coal Miners".

I'll end this, again, with Skip Perez:

The erroneous headline still hurts, though: "12 Coal Miners Are Found Alive" in large, bold type at the top of our front page. But perhaps I use the term "hurt" too loosely. True hurt is losing a loved one in a tragedy.