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.