In what might be seen as a case of life imitating art, a Welsh daily newspaper, The Western Mail, has apologized for appending the Internet acronym “LOL” to a photo caption accompanying their coverage of a mountainside plane crash that claimed the lives of a local airport manager and his co-pilot:

In its apology, The Western Mail assured readers that it has launched an internal investigation.

Viewers of Aaron Sorkin’s HBO drama The Newsroom (recently panned by our own Bill Zeiser) might recognize a familiar storyline.  In the latest episode, Maggie admitted to having inscribed a sympathy card with “I’m so sorry about your loss. LOL,” mistakenly believing that “LOL” meant “Lots of Love” rather than “Laugh Out Loud.”

Alas, Western Mail editors, it could be far worse, as the folks over at South Carolina’s Greenville News so eloquently remind us.