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Sam Penrod reporting
Murray Energy, the company that owns the Crandall Canyon mine, is lashing out at media reports it claims are biased.
The mining company sent a letter to the Salt Lake Tribune blasting the paper for its coverage. But Eyewitness News has found the mining company may be trying to make its point to all of the news media.
Not only did Murray Energy send the letter to the Tribune, but it also sent copies to news organizations throughout the state. The mining company says it is tired of what it calls "a campaign of falsehoods to destroy Mr. Robert E. Murray's reputation." But some are questioning if the company is firing a "shot across the bow" to manipulate the coverage.
While the disaster at the Crandall Canyon mine happened months ago, the tragedy remains a big story for news organizations. However, to Murray Energy, the coverage is apparently too much. Company attorneys sent a letter to the Salt Lake Tribune that reads in part: "We urge the good citizens of Utah to reject the biased reporting of these tragic events by the Salt Lake Tribune and demand the record be set straight as to the heroic efforts of our companies, especially Mr. Robert E. Murray, in the face of the calamitous events of August 2007."
The letter also states Murray Energy is considering litigation against the Tribune.
"The press has a job to do here: reporting the facts regarding this mine tragedy and the investigative response to it," attorney Jeff Hunt said.
Hunt is a media law attorney who represents several news organizations, including KSL-TV, and believes the letter from Murray Energy was meant to threaten and intimidate.
"If they intended to intimidate, I don't think that is going to work; and I think a smarter approach would be to sit down with the editor and writers at the Tribune, and if there are factual inaccuracies to point those out and demand those be corrected," Hunt said. "It seems to be more of a complaint about the fact that these are some unflattering facts that have been reported, and it's the job of the press to report those facts."
A Senate sub-committee investigating Crandall Canyon will hold a hearing this Thursday in Washington, D.C. Robert Murray has been invited to attend and testify, but it is doubtful he will show up because some senators have called on the U.S. Department of Justice to open a criminal investigation of Murray and his company.
Editors at the Salt Lake Tribune told Eyewitness News the paper always has treated Murray Energy like any other subject it reports on. The paper says it will continue to report and tell this story as it has in the past, despite the letter it received from Murray Energy.
To read the entire letter, click the related link.
E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com
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