WTC survivor trivializing Sept. 11

World Trade Center survivor Edward Fine is charging $911 for a two-hour interview, the New York Post reported last week. He said the sum is no coincidence. \nHard to believe?\nSo far, 12 media organizations have paid. \nFine, who owns an investment and public relations firm in New Jersey, was on the 79th floor of the north tower last Sept. 11. After he escaped from the building, Fine's image was snapped by an Agence France-Presse photographer as he stumbled down an unrecognizable New York street clutching a white handkerchief to his mouth. The photograph was featured a few weeks later on the cover of Fortune magazine. Since, Fine has been one of the many recognizable Sept. 11 sources for the slew of reporters and editors anxious to get their hands on another anniversary story. \nBut this Sept. 11 story goes beyond rehash of fervent patriotism and pack journalism that has been dictating coverage of late. \nFine's demand for money is base and disrespectful toward both the tragedy and what should be his thankfulness to be alive. Above the New York Post's story on Fine's request for money from his interviewers (in which the Post said it didn't pay Fine for quotes), the headline reads "Blood Money," and rightfully so. \nBeyond the moral imperfections of Fine's demand, his actions and the amount of organizations who have paid for interviews combined set a frightening precedent for journalism. The freedom of the press is centered on the freedom of information. When the press starts to pay for information that should be part of the public domain, the story will go to the highest bidder -- most likely to be one of the large, corporate media conglomerates. Paying for interviews has the potential to skew all attempts at accuracy. Media outlets facing a tight budget may have to go with a less reliable source if the primary source charged too much for an interview.\nKenny Irby, a journalism ethics expert with the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, told the Post the same thing. He said that paying for stories would compromise the media's accuracy and authority. \nHe further defends these views in a column on http://www.poynter.org.\n"The media have a duty to seek out and report on truths that affect society and to share accurate insights, perspective, context and opinion about life." Irby wrote. "That duty is based on trust and credibility, not monetary exchange. As a noble ideal, the relationship between community and media is bonded not by financial gain, but by the sharing of knowledge and experience."\nYet, no matter how tasteless Fine's actions may seem, you can't blame him. \nIt's a free country.\nThat means Fine is free to uphold his capitalistic right to charge for his time. Fine told the Post that the reason he is charging is because giving interviews takes away time from running his business. \nThe life we have continually fought for as a nation throughout our history is founded on freedom. That means the freedom to do what you see fit with your own time and intellectual property. If that means charging for what no one else will, so be it. We should support Fine's attempts to do what he thinks is right with his story, even if we disagree, if only because freedom means that even the lowliest has the right to voice an opinion. \nFreedom is Edward Fine charging $911 for an interview, no matter what the rest of the nation thinks. But freedom also means we don't have to pay.