CNN Nails Mine Owner Murray... With a Big Wet Kiss

When will the traditional media stop rolling out the red carpet for Utah mine co-owner Bob Murray? CNN anchor Kyra Phillips treated Murray like a hero on Wednesday, the same day the Salt Lake Tribune reported on documents that prove Murray had pushed for risky mining methods at Crandall Canyon. Risky mining methods Murray has strenuously denied employing, but which may have contributed to turning his mine into a death scene for three rescuers and six miners.

Phillips did show some grit at one point in the interview -- but not to take on Murray. Instead she stood strong in support of the job her network has done covering the story: "I can tell you right now as a journalist here at CNN, and our entire news operation, in no way shape or form have we forgotten what each one of those miners has done."

But no one has suggested that CNN has forgotten what the miners have done. The problem is that they have forgotten what Murray has done to the miners.

It took CNN 12 days, as Arianna pointed out here, to get around to questioning the safety of the Crandall Canyon mine, offering the chyron, "Safety of Rescue Operation Debated." Instead, the network has given endless air time to Murray and Richard Stickler, Bush's mine safety czar, who has offered more protection to the mining industry than to coal miners.

Phillips had the chance to ask Murray the kinds of questions that could expose dangerous mining practices -- and possibly save lives in the future. Instead, she let the interview become yet another opportunity for Murray to buff his image as the grieving surrogate father of the miners that were killed under his supervision.

Phillips ended the softball interview not by pressing Murray on the day's million-dollar question -- Did you place the recovery of more coal from your mine above the safety of your miners? -- but by asking Murray "How are you holding up?"

She then offered Murray the CNN stamp of approval, telling him: "I appreciate your time... and your honesty."

Perhaps in Phillips' lexicon, "honesty" means phony chest-beating from a mine owner looking to cover his tracks -- tracks that have contributed to the deaths of nine brave men.

John Amato has the video and the transcript at Crooks and Liars.

Follow Katharine Zaleski on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kzaleski

Comments

[lebo]

How many saw the interview with Murray by Carol Costello of CNN during the 5 PM hour today? Again, no probing questions. The interview was more about Murray's "heroics" and his state of being. You had to see Costello's body language too. It was a study in bathos. Sickening.

[peanut]

I am certainly not going to defend CNN because I agree the slant in coverage has been to the right. But, I see no one has commented about the Murray interview with Dan Abrams on MSNBC. I saw the interview but was on the phone and had the sound down. If someone saw that interview, please comment about it. What questions did Abrams ask, etc. If everyone is going to attack Kyra and CNN let's cover the story with regards to other cable outlets.

But, I have to disagree with the post about CNN reporters not caring about the working class. The middle class and its jeopardy is the entire theme of Lou Dobbs show on a daily basis. He defends no political party or politician who doesn't stand-up for working American and for jobs here in the USA. For my money, Dobbs does the best job on TV of defending and stand-up for the rights of the working middle class.

I did hear Murray say that he intended to continue mining in that mountain, just not in the area where the bump took place. There is where the government and politician come in...they should never allow another life to be jeopardize for the greed of one or a few. "Evil Mountain, my ass!" We all know who are the evil ones.
signed,
A PA coalminer's daughter..­..God Bless my dad!

[kroses98]

Dobbs is the ONLY one!

[hilow64]

Do you expect anything else from the people who employ Glenn Beck and Nancy Grace?Journalism went out the door with Aaron Brown.

CNN spends too much time trying to emulate Fox and not enough time actually practicing journalism.

[LIR]

Catering to the 20% or less who think that what they are saying is correct...­message to CNN: emulating the excusers and ass kissers of Bush is way out of touch with mainstream America...­unless you only care about access to Bush, end it, FAST!

[kkotrba]

That is exactly right. Instead of practising journalism, CNN keeps lowering itself to Fox's standards.

[Jonni Rae]

I agree about Aaron Brown. I loved his show. I stayed up late to watch it and then I noticed all of a sudden he was gone and Anderson Cooper was on. Does anyone know what happened to Aaron Brown?

[TXfemmom]

On the very day that the Salt Lake newspaper published some true, genuine truth and journalistic investigatory work on what Murray really is, CNN trots him out and treats him as though he was Mahatmas Gandhi.

I don't know which one deserves to have their butt kicked worse, Phillips and CNN, or Murray, as CNN, by giving him this unfettered, and unquestioned airtime, permits him to spread his lies.

[LIR]

I would fire the whole lot at the network...­not one of them deserves to stay on the job another day. Journalism is about questioning the powers that be, not about letting them snowjob you with propaganda, self promotion and out and out lies. But then that has been the MO of the mainstream media throughout Bush's reign of terror.

[LeftLeaner]

Except for Lou Dobbs, Keith Olbermann and Jack Cafferty.
But, who knows when they'll be getting heir pink slips, OR being asked to soften (spin) their reporting.

[Ginzaman]

What do you expect? A former head of CNN had secret meetings in Washington with neocons to kiss their collective asses. CNN runs a special on Islam and does lousy reporting. Will any of their reporters actually do their job? Why should they? All that matters is mony, power, and having no connection whatsoever to anything "liberal" (whatever that means).

[Swampfish]

It's incomprehe­nsible,Mur­ray along with the Bush admin is responsible for the deaths and safety of the deceased workers.
But if you watch CNN, you would think that this greedy immoral murderer Murray is the one who has lost his love ones.And notice that hardly any kin of the dead miners are in CNN promotions to make Murray look good.
But that's what we get from corporate ownership of the media.The rich going out of their way to conceal the greedy murder of American mine workers.

[lizzienapp]

kyra phillips is awful...he­r interviews are laughable.­..my favorite story is...when she was actually in Iraq at the beginning of the war...she told someone in an interview that she had managed to "slip away" from the war to get in a couple of rounds of golf in Kuwait!! Evidently her husband is from that part of the world...bu­t even if you did do that...wou­ld you tell anyone...s­eems insenstive to say the least...ac­tually I just dont think she is very smart...th­ink that is the problem.

[TurgidCaterwauling]

When will our national infatuation with good ol' boys like Murray, GW, Fred Thompson, and all their homespun ilk end?

[Crozier]

It oddly began, I believe when the population shifted from snowbelt to sunbelt. When the Dixiecrats became Republicans is another. When Southern agrarian economic policies became normative. When country music became available in Maine as well as Mississippi.

When Franklin Delano Roosevelt was replaced by Harry Truman. When John Fitzgerald Kennedy was replaced by Lyndon Baines Johnson.

When Jimmy Carter and Ronnie Raygun were elected. Yes, when Hope AR Clinton was elected.

But most importantly, when fascist Yankee New England Brahmins 41 and 43 convinced Bubba that they were Texans.

[helonias]

CNN = evil mountain enablers

[elnath]

Kyra couldn't ask a tough question if her life depended on it. CNN is a joke these days and rapidly closing in on Faux as the most shiftless network in America.

[bkny]

the wisdom of kyra phillips:

Kyra Phillips was criticised for her perceived insensitivity during an April 16, 2003 interview with Dr Imad al-Najada, the doctor of Ali Ismail Abbas, a 12-year-old boy who lost 15 relatives and both arms when a US missile hit his home in Baghdad.[5­][6] Joan Walsh, news editor of Salon.com, wrote:[7]

"CNN hit rock bottom on Wednesday morning, when anchor Kyra Phillips interviewed Ali's doctor in Kuwait, Dr Imad al- Najada explained that, although Ali told reporters he was grateful for his treatment, he also hopes no other 'children in the war will suffer like what he suffered'. Phillips seemed shocked by Ali's apparent inability to understand we were only trying to help him. 'Doctor, does he understand why this war took place? Has he talked about Operation Iraqi Freedom and the meaning. Does he understand it?'"

[Witchitalineman]

Isn't this pathetic. Thanks for sharing. I didn't see it (fortunately).

[TerryFL]

.

Why wait..Let'­s name him CNN/Time "Man of the Year" today.

.

[Guitarsandmore]

When all homes have solar panels on their roofs all of the coal mines can be sealed forever.

[CountdownToImpeachment]

Guitarsandmore,

When all homes have solar panels on their roofs all of the coal mines can be sealed forever.

But that would undermine (no pun intended) the bu$h/cheney USURPATION et al's ATTACKS on the enviroment & the people. Did you know that the WORST concentrations of cancers etc was around coal fired power plants (the same kind that Usurper bu$h is trying to spread across America).

Gore got a CONGRESSIONAL MANDATE against the worst polluters in the country that they would not do anything more than routine mantinence without instituting pollution controls (cleaning up the coal & filtering the exausts). When Usurper bu$h STOLE office, he IMMEDIANTLY starting gutting the heart out of the EPA & the regulation of the pollutive industries (with Vice Usurper cheney pushing his puppet bu$h to do that every step of the way).PROVI­NG THAT AT LEAST TWO OF HIS CAMPAIGN ENVIROMENTAL "PROMISES" WERE LIES! Usurper bu$h then attacks on the court cases against the polluters and tries to stop ALL of the cases from entering the courts. Nine cases were too far into the court system to be stopped, so Usurper bu$h then pulls the government prosicutors OFF the case. The enviromentalists were happy because they then put COMPITANT lawyers on the case & even with the bu$h/cheney USURPATION et al FIGHTING THE CASES TOOTH & NAIL ALL THE WAY, the enviromentalists (& the people) WON (because they were open & shut cases, the pollutive industries doing the opposite of the mandate).

Usurper bu$h then stood up in front of America (I even saw this myself) on TV and said "AND AS FAR AS MY ENVIROMENTAL PROMISES, LOOK AT THESE NINE OF THE COUNTRIES WORST POLLUTERS, THAT I PERSONALLY HAD PROSICUTED" proving to all knowledgeable Americans, WHAT A F**KING LIAR USURPER BU$H IS!

Usurper bu$h (& Vice Usurper cheney)has only gotten worse since then.

[PAFirefighter]

There already ARE some coal mines which are sealed forever. They contain the bodies of miners who perished in them as long as 50 years ago. One or two are here in PA. WVa has a few.

I believe that this may be Utah's first one. That mountain seems to be terribly unstable.

If we took only HALF of what Bush has spent on his Iraq Adventure and put it into R&D on solar technology, we would need half as much coal and oil as we're using today.

Men I went to grade school with work the coal mines today. I'd rather fight fires. It seems less dangerous.

PA Firefighter

[nunzia]

We cannot count on, or expect truth from, CNN. That's been gone for a long time.

[FogBelter]

When Ted Turner left ... that was it for CNN.

[cheetahchick]

So disappointed in Kyra.Seems she forgot about the responsibilities of being a reporter is to INVESTIGATE and offer TWO sides of an event, especially one that cries out for justice against the unsafe mineing practices that killed 9 good men! Wake up Kyra!

[Donald]

Excuse me, but isn't this the same Kyra Phillips whom then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi once told -- on the air, no less -- to go apply for a job with the Bush administration, if she was so insistent upon reading to her the White House talking points du jour?

Isn't this the same Kyra Phillips who a few months ago forgot to turn her microphone off whie she went to the ladies' room, thus allowing the world to hear her diss her own sister-in-law to a co-wroker while taking a pee?

Therefore, there's really nothing to be disappointed in, and there's really nothing to wake up. Ms. Phillips' fawning interview with Mr. Murray was pretty much par for her course -- to quote the immortal Gertrude Stein, "There's no 'there' there."

[Crozier]

Add Anderson Vanderbilt Cooper to the mix...

[blurredtruth]

Agree he should be in jail...so much for real reporting.