How a classic 1951 film understood journalism better than we do now

Why is the news is so bad? Watch 'Ace in the Hole.'

Ace in the Hole.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Criterion Collection, iStock)

Pick something, anything, you hate in the world of journalism: sensationalism; focusing on unimportant stories; not covering important stories; left-wing bias; right-wing bias; saying that real news is "fake news"; saying that "fake news" is real news; Gawker; Gawker getting sued into oblivion; mixing the worst imaginable ads into real stories — there are a million other things. It would be nice to blame it all on opportunists who exploit whatever they can to promote themselves and make money and be done with it.

But why are the opportunities there to begin with?

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Steve Larkin

Steve Larkin is a writer from the state of Maine. His writing has appeared in The Week, the Catholic Herald, and other publications.