Oil rig fire and explosion

An explosion has happened on an oil rig just off the Louisiana coastline, and despite several fatalities and some missing, this story is barely being covered, unlike the ongoing minute-by-minute coverage of the coal miners that we suffered through just in the last week or so. People don't realize that for Louisiana, the offshore oil drilling industry IS the Virginia coal mines. The work is just as dangerous, just as frightening, and just as (sadly) economically profitable for the companies who exploit the workers. And of course, both industries deal with the energy issues that affect this nation so critically. Somehow, though, the coal miners were worthy of round-the-clock nonstop coverage, but the Louisiana offshore workers aren't as worthy. It's not as scary and romantic to be blown up in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico as it is to be blown up and buried in a coal mine?

This disparity in coverage is irking me. I have relatives and friends associated with this industry. My niece Elizabeth's fiance works offshore, and my brother-in-law Arthur used to work offshore, as did many other relatives. Even my brother-in-law Harvey used to work offshore, if I'm not mistaken. A landlord we had not long after Stephen was born was a one-armed man who had lost his arm working offshore when a cable wrapped itself around his arm and simply yanked it off. My cousin Philip was injured so severely offshore that he took a disability settlement from it (and was rich for a short while). Boys I went to high school with are long dead and buried from dying while working offshore.

So why is the news coverage so thin?