ACE IN THE HOLE

The Utah mine story is frighteningly similar to an old movie that my old Professor Friedman insisted his students watch in Press Ethics class at NYU. The movie was called Ace in the Hole. He screened it in class--which I thought was a waste of my tuition at the time, but knew why he did soon after.

I don't remember the specifics of the movie, but I do remember the basic plot. A sensationalist newspaper reporter stalls a rescue of a man who is trapped in a collapsed coal mine in order to milk to story and further his career. He convinces a contractor to drill a hole from the top of the mine instead of taking a faster, safer route from the side. He gets the story of the decade, but the trapped miner dies as result.

Sound familiar? it should. (more)

I'm not questioning any specific person's ethics; it's the collective that I have a problem with.

FLASHOVER NOTES

The Deacon/Ianetta case has raised my blood pressure to the point that I almost neglected the fascinating phenomenon that got these two men out of prison: flashover. Here are some interesting links from some cases around the country.

Cincinatti Post
Washington Post
San Francisco Chronicle

Most people (inluding myself) have trouble distinguishing the difference between flashover nad backdraft. Here's an explanation from the Cincinatti Post (7.27.07):

"Investigators will also try to determine whether the rapid-fire expansion that injured the firefighters was a backdraft - in which a sudden ventilation fans the flames - or a flashover, in which the atmosphere becomes so hot that the smoke ignites."

So in a nutshell, backdraft is the introduction of oxygen, flashover is the lack of oxygen. Even though they are somewhat opposite effects, they are still confusing investigators all the time.

For example.

It kills me to read stories about Deacon and Ianetta from some highly respected journalists who don't fully understand what they're reporting on. Know you're facts, gentlemen.