Chilean mine swarm: the taxi drivers did well

The rescue of the Chilean miners became a ‘made for TV’ event, causing some journalists to ask: Have we gone too far? With some 2,000 reporters on the scene, it was only matter of time before journalists began reporting on journalists. At least the media swarm was good for local taxi drivers. And it did…

The rescue of the Chilean miners became a ‘made for TV’
event, causing some journalists to ask: Have we gone too
far? With some 2,000 reporters on the scene, it was only matter of time before
journalists
began reporting on journalists.

At least the media swarm was good for local
taxi drivers. And it did no harm to Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, who
effectively
stage-managed the country’s horrible mine safety record into a good news
story. Meanwhile, the families didn’t spend all their time weeping
photogenically – they also took time out to launch
lawsuits against both the company and the government for ignoring miners’
warnings about impending disaster.

Perhaps some missing-in-action journalism of
outrage is to follow? With Canada as the leading
foreign investor in Chilean mining, including some highly controversial projects,
there’s more to the ‘make-it-local’ story than our precision rescue
drilling.

The rescue of the Chilean miners became a ‘made for TV’
event, causing some journalists to ask: Have we gone too
far? With some 2,000 reporters on the scene, it was only matter of time before
journalists
began reporting on journalists.

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Patricia Elliott

Patricia W. Elliott is a magazine journalist and assistant professor at the School of Journalism, University of Regina. You can visit her at patriciaelliott.ca.