Jabari Danzy

Kendall Beal

CLASS DISCUSSIONCHAPTER 9

WEST VIRGINIA MINE DISASTER

Sago mine, West Virginia exploded leaving 13 miners in danger

Soonest fresh air available was 22 hours later despite immediate response

Reports of miners being found and alive began to circulate. One found dead, other 12 alive

Reports found false and re-circulated. 12 dead, one alive.

MONDAY, JANUARY 2, 2006

Americans woke up to “good” morning news about them being alive then news about their “good news actually “bad” news.

Some families promised to sue for the mishapHow could this happen?ICG and Hatfield and Then-Governor Joe Manchin

had no answers

CATASTROPHE

Thoughts on how this misinformation occurred lead to no definite answerRescue workings wearing maskCrew was exhaustedPoor connections and static“Open” command center

CRITICISM

Cell phones are to blame as a prominent source for those present allowing them to spread news whether it was false or correct

Mine officials/Politicians No announcement of miner’s safety

Media Publish stories without attribution

Some had solutions Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center..

Huge public interest Rachel Smolkin, American Journalism Review

Deadline-driven

BLAME

What preparation might ICG have made to anticipate the incident at the Sago mine?

Avert from miscommunication? “Expect the unexpected”?

Was there any public relations presence in this case? Explain

What role did the governors pronouncement play in the scenario and was it a good idea?

QUESTIONS

Catholic Church and Child Molestation

TROUBLE IN THE PEWS

On January 6, 2002 the Boston Globe publishes story of pastor who was about to stand trial for criminal abuse of minors.

The story raised questions about the Catholic Church's policies and practices regarding the assignment of priests that had allegations of abuse against them.

Who should really take the blame for these actions?  Unfortunately, this was just the beginning of the

allegations brought forth towards the Roman Catholic Church and around the country. As the stories continued, more individuals came forward stating priests from other diocese had abused them as too.

THE CRISIS DIDN’T BREAK

The Boston Globes coverage of the sexual abuse story paved the way for other networks to do so as well.

 Most news stations started devoting space and time to this story.

Other problems begin to arise...

ALL NEWS HAS A LOCAL ANGLE

After the release of Priests names with Allegations against them, the diocese hoped it could demonstrate them moving forward.

 However, some distinct issues made that impossible.  The attorney decided to conduct an investigation into the

practices of the diocese and to see if any law were broken. Hundreds of individuals came forward to state they were

abused in the past. Several activity groups quickly became very vocal

regarding this issue and were calling for action.  Numerous civil lawsuits were initiated and gained wide

media attention  

ISSUE CONSOLIDATION

MEDIA SETS THE AGENDA AND FRAMES THE STORY

 The Media did not create the situation, but they did give it shape and propelled it to the forefront of the nation’s consciousness. This is NOT an attempt to “blame” the media. The horrible nature of sexual abuse makes it an issue the media loves.  Media’s framework  Good Guys vs Bad Guys = Simple Resolution Because of those disclosed names of the priest didn’t serve a purpose in a sense. They just couldn’t begin to separate past from the present and move forward. The Diocese decided to use a successful way of communicating to their public through the media.

Respond pastorally to those who had been harmed.Concentrate on Catholics and help them retain their

faith in the Church.Try their best to help restore public confidence in the

Church.

 Diocese main audienceThose brought forth claims of abuse by a priest“People in the pews”ClergyEmployees and volunteers in parishes

GOALS OF THE DIOCESE’S PLAN

Email to priestsA Live TV addressTaking it to the peopleRegular Bulletin board announcements and

information.

DIOCESE KEY ACTION STEPS

Some of the Catholic Church wouldn’t accept the Church’s position that crimes that occurred years ago should be judged by the standards of the day. What should the Church have said to those people?

In this case, the media and critics seemed to have jumped on both the agenda and expectations. What could the Church have done to get control of the issue?

  This cases focuses on New Hampshire and the Boston area,

but the problem is much more widespread than New England. Shouldn’t the Church lead some national or international eff ort? What would you recommend?

  How does the diocese handling of this crisis compare with

the handling of the sexual molestation case at Penn State? (Ask Penn State group)

QUESTIONS