Knowing your Audience:
Close your eyes
Doug McGill
BCOM/275
August 19, 2012
Eric Graves
Close your eyes imagine that you are trapped in complete darkness with little to no room surrounded by 32 other men, the fear of no escape from a room smaller than the size of an average classroom, and you are half a mile underground with no way out. Unless, someone experienced this nightmare firsthand this would be difficult for anyone to imagine. This was the terrifying and exhausting reality for 33 Chilean gold miners August 5, 2010 through October 9, 2010. There are two difficult types of communication that the San Esteban Company faced. The Company had to address the families of the trapped miner’s and the rest of world. The considerations of roles the Company played when addressing the two different audiences will be discussed. And what actions were taken before and after the message was delivered to ensure that the messages were received as they were intended for each audience. Addressing the Audience
Everyone experiences fear in their own way, but the thought of being trapped half a mile underground, 2600 feet, almost 900 meters is a terrifying thought for anyone. The miner’s from the San Esteban Mining Company lived through the fear of claustrophobia for 70 days in almost complete darkness. It took 17 days before the miners were discovered to be trapped and still alive. The miners made two days of food and water last 17 days. The miners were discovered through constant attempts from their Company digging trying to find the miners exact location. In August of 2010 this story has all of the world’s attention on Chile. The San Esteban Mining Company understands that any error could have further negative effects to the future of their business. The mining company must understand the audience with which they are dealing with. The company must address the miner’s families and ensure them that they are doing everything possible to rescue their loved ones. At the same time the mining company is addressing the Chilean government and all of the media from around the globe. Addressing the Families
The San Esteban Mining Company had a difficult task they had tell 33 families that they each have a family member trapped under ground and they do not know exactly where in the mine the men are located. The company is ensuring the families that they are making every effort to find their employees. The mining company would need to communicate to the families that they have contacted the government to receive assistance with the rescue. The company would tell the families that they are contacting other countries to assist with the complexity of the rescue. The mining company would have told the families that they will find all the miners and rescue the men. The San Esteban Mining Company would have to always make positive statements to keep the families in the highest possible spirits during their rescue efforts. The mining company would want the families to know that the safety of their loved ones is the company’s highest priority. Addressing the World
After addressing the trapped miner’s families the San Esteban Mining Company would have to communicate to the local and national government. The mining company would have to tell the government that the rescuing the miners is their number one priority. The company would also have to address their poor safety history. The mining company would have to address the 42 safety violations that have occurred in the past six years. The company would have explained in an effort to be more profitable safety corners were cut to supply an ever increasing supply and demand market. The mining company understands the complexity of the potential catastrophe that could happen. The lives of the miners are important to the mine, but not as important as the survival of the company. The company will say and do anything possible to have a positive resolution to the current situation they are facing. If the mining company truly were concerned with the safety of their men they would not have had such a high number of safety citations. The company’s safety citations had been more frequent leading up to the entrapment of the miners. The mining company will not try and pull the wool over the sheep’s eyes with the government and the world’s media watching their every move. The mine wants to have a successful rescue operation and still be able to have a future mining. Conclusion
Unfortunately, this is a disaster that could have been avoided. As with countless accidents and tragedies throughout history, there must be severe tragedies or a loss of life in order to have enforced regulations. An example of this would be after the sinking of the Titanic this accident lead to safety regulations on life boats. Thankfully the Chilean mine collapse had a happy ending. The San Esteban Mining Company had to understand the audience with whom they were addressing. The families of the miners had to be ensured that the mining company was making every effort to rescue their loved ones. The Chilean government and the rest of the world had to be told what led to this accident and what commitments the company is making to prevent a reoccurrence of this tragedy in the future. The company followed up with what they said to the families by providing the trapped miners communication with family members and astringent measures for the miner’s health. The company gave both of their audiences a daily update of every change and status change on the rescue efforts.

References:

Matibag, G. C. (October 9, 2010). Chile Mine Disaster: Timeline. Retrieved from http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6980068-chile-mine-disaster-timeline
Weik, Juan (August 6, 2010). Over 30 workers trapped after Chilean copper mine collapse. Retrieve from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=53129236&site=ehost-live
Whitaker, C. (N.D.). Chilean Mine Collapse. Retrieved from http://benitoonorato.wix.com/worlddisasters#!chilean-mine-collapse