Dan Heyman, reporter for West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB) in Charleston, will speak about the media’s role in the Sago Mining Disaster on Monday, April 10 at West Virginia Wesleyan College. His presentation, “Twelve (NOT) Found Alive” is part of the continuing evening lecture series associated with the Coal Mining Accident Research class at the College.  The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in Hyma Auditorium in the Christopher Hall of Science.

Heyman will explore the role of the media in communicating to the public after a crisis. He will also focus on the use and access to public documents by the media in reporting about the mining industry. Heyman is one of several reporters who covered the Sago and Aracoma mine accidents for WVPB network and for National Public Radio (NPR).

He mistakenly reported that the Sago miners were alive.  Although he admits “it was not my proudest moment as a journalist,” he is perfectly willing to discuss how that happened.  Since joining the station in 1997, he has written extensively about the coal industry and a number of his investigative reports have aired on NPR and WVPB.

For more information about the Heyman lecture or about Wesleyan’s Coal Mining Accident Research class, please contact Dr. Kathleen Long, professor of communication, at (304) 473-8234 or Dr. Robert Rupp, professor of history, at (304) 473-8561.