The rules about not being allowed to act on, or retransmit these recordings are idiotic in my mind. As mentioned, taking photos in public is somewhat similar: its a sensation that is easily accessible. Trying to restrict the flow of information is like restricting a stream of water with a spoon: almost impossible, and not in any way productive. Sweden has them, as well. I have been thinking about just opening a darknet site to share my local ATC frequency, but sadly I think its probably soooo boring to listen to. Now if I had lived close to a larger airport, however...
Yes, sensationalism is a problem. One solution: let people hear how often mistakes are made so that its not a big deal. Media and people get used/bored by stuff happening. By the way, what about all the US recordings that are out there of similar incidents? Did the world somehow crash and burn from those?