Miners need 'urgent' surgery
God Bess these Boys and they deserve everything they get from Cable News exploitation of this story, but what really pisses me off big time is, What about the miners that risk their lives day after day to go down in that same mine to rescue these boys, what recognition do they get what payout do they get, After all if they had not risked their lives all those days, there would not have been any potential stories, and shows for the Cable News. SUCKS BIG TIME
May 21, 2006
MINERS Todd Russell and Brant Webb are suffering from serious health problems requiring surgery following their 14-day ordeal underground.
Despite being released from hospital within hours of being freed on May 9, their injuries are more serious than first thought, according to family members.
Mr Russell and Mr Webb intend to disappear from the spotlight in Australia after tonight's dramatic television revelations.
Mr Webb's father John told The Sunday Telegraph: "Brant spent an hour and a half with an osteopath last week and had MRI scans because of the pain in his legs.
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"They will need to operate on his legs and knees. His liver is not well either."
Mr Russell also has leg problems.
"Brant says his injuries are nothing compared to Todd's," Mr Webb said.
The Tasmanian pair are believed to be desperate to spirit their families away from Beaconsfield to escape the new-found demands of their instant celebrity status.
In tonight's two-hour TV special, the men break down in tears as they reveal their fears of dying a lonely death a kilometre underground.
For the first time, the world will learn what went through their minds during the two weeks they spent trapped in the Beaconsfield gold mine.
According to those involved in its production, the tale is worth every dollar of the $2.6 million Nine paid the pair to secure it.
With book and movie deals also expected, the success of their multi-media plan hinges on the strength of tonight's much-awaited story.
Nine CEO, Eddie McGuire, whose reputation is on the line over the deal, says the Beaconsfield saga has "man on the moon qualities" in the way it transfixed a nation.
And he is confident the special will deliver the ratings and revenue needed to justify the biggest cash-for-story payment in Australian media history.
"There is just so much in it, you could do two two-hour shows," he said.
Nine is asking $100,000 for 30-second advertising spots, a 40 per cent premium for Sunday night prime time. Most analysts believe the network will struggle to break even.
Mr McGuire denied he would have done the deal at any cost, but it is clear he believes it is a decisive blow in the arm-wrestle with Seven over leadership in television news and current affairs.
"Nine is back in the news breaking business again," Mr McGuire told The Sunday Telegraph.
"We're not crowing. We are not rubbing Seven's nose in it as Mel and Kochie (Seven's Sunrise hosts) did a great job and were right in it ... but I think we covered it in a tremendously professional fashion."
Shrugging off criticism he paid too much to win a timeslot the network would have won anyway, McGuire said the journalist in him had driven him on.
There was also another factor: the memory of 60 Minutes reporter Richard Carleton who died of a heart attack while covering the story.
"One of our own died down there. And that never left me. Richard went down to do a yarn and I wanted to finish it. We all did."
Mr McGuire and his former manager, Jeffrey Browne, who he recruited to be his number two at Nine, finally clinched the deal after consulting PBL managing director John Alexander.
After the special, Mr Russell and Mr Webb are off to the United States for an interview with the ABC network. They hope it will open the doors for more lucrative deals - and then they will take a break.
But the miners' money has brought pressures of its own with questions about whether they will give some to the family of colleague Larry Knight who was killed in the rock fall.
Their manager, Sean Anderson, said the men had yet to receive a cent, but had made it clear they stood ready to assist Mr Knight's widow.
Link Here
Dead miner's family 'shafted'
By Joe HildebrandMay 20, 2006
THE family of dead Tasmanian miner Larry Knight will receive a lump sum workers compensation payment of just $196,000.
The payout is less than one-tenth the amount his living colleagues will receive for appearing on television tomorrow.
And the company which owns the Beaconsfield mine will not have to pay a cent of the $196,000 - and is refusing to say whether it will provide any direct assistance to Mr Knight's widow Jacqui and her three fatherless children.
The family would have to rely on the generosity of ordinary Australians, who have donated $600,000 to the Australian Workers Union's Beaconsfield Fund.
Brant Webb and Todd Russell - who survived the collapse - have used their one public appearance to date to urge the community to get behind the Knight family.
They used their appearance on The Footy Show to call on Australia to give generously to the Beaconsfield fund, and have promised to do everything they can to help the family of their fallen friend.
The money which Mr Knight's family would receive would be dwarfed by the $2.6 million which Mr Webb and Mr Russell would receive from their deal with the Nine Network.
Their two-hour special screens Sunday night and they stand to gain millions more from US media deals involving TV appearances and possibly even movie rights.
Australian Workers Union secretary Bill Shorten said both the workers compensation laws and Beaconsfield gold mine had let the family down and called on the company to match the workers' and the public's generosity.
Under Tasmania's workers compensation laws, a company has to pay just 369 penalty units of $531 for the death of a worker.
Mrs Knight would also receive the equivalent of her husband's wage for the first 13 weeks after his death, although this gradually drops to 80 per cent and cuts out altogether after two years.
This comes to an extra $150,000 or so over the two years and then runs out. All the money would be paid out of the gold mine's workers compensation insurance, not from the company coffers.
At the same time Mr Webb and Mr Russell had just earned $2.6 million in a television and magazine deal with Channel 9 and other PBL outlets and are flying to the US for a series of television appearances which could earn them millions more.
With US shows from Larry King to Oprah vying for them they are set to become celebrities.
The Australian Workers Union will ensure the bulk of the $600,000 goes to the Knights.
But even that could come under pressure, with the future of the mining company in doubt and no guarantee of wages for the other miners after June 9.
Mine backer Macquarie Bank has contributed $100,000 to the fund but Beaconsfield gold mine has made no public donation.
The AWU has extracted $2.7 million from Macquarie Bank to ensure workers' redundancies are paid if the project goes under.
Link Here
May 21, 2006
MINERS Todd Russell and Brant Webb are suffering from serious health problems requiring surgery following their 14-day ordeal underground.
Despite being released from hospital within hours of being freed on May 9, their injuries are more serious than first thought, according to family members.
Mr Russell and Mr Webb intend to disappear from the spotlight in Australia after tonight's dramatic television revelations.
Mr Webb's father John told The Sunday Telegraph: "Brant spent an hour and a half with an osteopath last week and had MRI scans because of the pain in his legs.
Eddie's Payday: Jackpot hangs in the balance
Emotional: Miner's strength spurred on manager
Mine safety: Laws threaten lives and absolve management
Innovation: Aussie know-how could aid communication
"They will need to operate on his legs and knees. His liver is not well either."
Mr Russell also has leg problems.
"Brant says his injuries are nothing compared to Todd's," Mr Webb said.
The Tasmanian pair are believed to be desperate to spirit their families away from Beaconsfield to escape the new-found demands of their instant celebrity status.
In tonight's two-hour TV special, the men break down in tears as they reveal their fears of dying a lonely death a kilometre underground.
For the first time, the world will learn what went through their minds during the two weeks they spent trapped in the Beaconsfield gold mine.
According to those involved in its production, the tale is worth every dollar of the $2.6 million Nine paid the pair to secure it.
With book and movie deals also expected, the success of their multi-media plan hinges on the strength of tonight's much-awaited story.
Nine CEO, Eddie McGuire, whose reputation is on the line over the deal, says the Beaconsfield saga has "man on the moon qualities" in the way it transfixed a nation.
And he is confident the special will deliver the ratings and revenue needed to justify the biggest cash-for-story payment in Australian media history.
"There is just so much in it, you could do two two-hour shows," he said.
Nine is asking $100,000 for 30-second advertising spots, a 40 per cent premium for Sunday night prime time. Most analysts believe the network will struggle to break even.
Mr McGuire denied he would have done the deal at any cost, but it is clear he believes it is a decisive blow in the arm-wrestle with Seven over leadership in television news and current affairs.
"Nine is back in the news breaking business again," Mr McGuire told The Sunday Telegraph.
"We're not crowing. We are not rubbing Seven's nose in it as Mel and Kochie (Seven's Sunrise hosts) did a great job and were right in it ... but I think we covered it in a tremendously professional fashion."
Shrugging off criticism he paid too much to win a timeslot the network would have won anyway, McGuire said the journalist in him had driven him on.
There was also another factor: the memory of 60 Minutes reporter Richard Carleton who died of a heart attack while covering the story.
"One of our own died down there. And that never left me. Richard went down to do a yarn and I wanted to finish it. We all did."
Mr McGuire and his former manager, Jeffrey Browne, who he recruited to be his number two at Nine, finally clinched the deal after consulting PBL managing director John Alexander.
After the special, Mr Russell and Mr Webb are off to the United States for an interview with the ABC network. They hope it will open the doors for more lucrative deals - and then they will take a break.
But the miners' money has brought pressures of its own with questions about whether they will give some to the family of colleague Larry Knight who was killed in the rock fall.
Their manager, Sean Anderson, said the men had yet to receive a cent, but had made it clear they stood ready to assist Mr Knight's widow.
Link Here
Dead miner's family 'shafted'
By Joe HildebrandMay 20, 2006
THE family of dead Tasmanian miner Larry Knight will receive a lump sum workers compensation payment of just $196,000.
The payout is less than one-tenth the amount his living colleagues will receive for appearing on television tomorrow.
And the company which owns the Beaconsfield mine will not have to pay a cent of the $196,000 - and is refusing to say whether it will provide any direct assistance to Mr Knight's widow Jacqui and her three fatherless children.
The family would have to rely on the generosity of ordinary Australians, who have donated $600,000 to the Australian Workers Union's Beaconsfield Fund.
Brant Webb and Todd Russell - who survived the collapse - have used their one public appearance to date to urge the community to get behind the Knight family.
They used their appearance on The Footy Show to call on Australia to give generously to the Beaconsfield fund, and have promised to do everything they can to help the family of their fallen friend.
The money which Mr Knight's family would receive would be dwarfed by the $2.6 million which Mr Webb and Mr Russell would receive from their deal with the Nine Network.
Their two-hour special screens Sunday night and they stand to gain millions more from US media deals involving TV appearances and possibly even movie rights.
Australian Workers Union secretary Bill Shorten said both the workers compensation laws and Beaconsfield gold mine had let the family down and called on the company to match the workers' and the public's generosity.
Under Tasmania's workers compensation laws, a company has to pay just 369 penalty units of $531 for the death of a worker.
Mrs Knight would also receive the equivalent of her husband's wage for the first 13 weeks after his death, although this gradually drops to 80 per cent and cuts out altogether after two years.
This comes to an extra $150,000 or so over the two years and then runs out. All the money would be paid out of the gold mine's workers compensation insurance, not from the company coffers.
At the same time Mr Webb and Mr Russell had just earned $2.6 million in a television and magazine deal with Channel 9 and other PBL outlets and are flying to the US for a series of television appearances which could earn them millions more.
With US shows from Larry King to Oprah vying for them they are set to become celebrities.
The Australian Workers Union will ensure the bulk of the $600,000 goes to the Knights.
But even that could come under pressure, with the future of the mining company in doubt and no guarantee of wages for the other miners after June 9.
Mine backer Macquarie Bank has contributed $100,000 to the fund but Beaconsfield gold mine has made no public donation.
The AWU has extracted $2.7 million from Macquarie Bank to ensure workers' redundancies are paid if the project goes under.
Link Here
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 8:12 PM
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