"Coast Guard lifts ban on news coverage near oil spill boom"

[onestepforward]

http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/07/coast_guard_lifts_ban_on_news.html

Published: Monday, July 12, 2010, 10:59 PM

The Coast Guard has modified a policy on safety zones around boom deployed on oiled coastlines, a policy news organizations had said unnecessarily restricted coverage of the impact of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and efforts to clean it up.

In a statement Monday night, the government's point man for the spill, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, said new procedures permit credentialed news media free travel within the boom safety zones.

"I have put out a direction that the press are to have clear, unfettered access to this event, with two exceptions: if there is a safety or security concern," said Allen. "This boom is critical to the defense of the marshes and the beaches."

-snip-

Capt. James McPherson, a Coast Guard spokesman, said the service has provided "unprecedented media access to the largest oil spill response in U.S. history."

He said the revised policy "will increase the ability of the media and the public to see the response effort."

I'm cautiously optimistic. We'll see what reporters and photographers say about their experience with this new change.

[Stardust]

1. Important step. Now, provide the clean-up workers with proper

protective gear, including respirators, and progress would indeed be happening. Amazing how just the slightest give on their part relieves us...

[onestepforward]

3. Definitely.

I don't know if it helps or not, but I've written the EPA several times about properly protecting the workers. I want to do more but I don't know what else to do.

[spin]

2. Good. We almost lost the First Amendment to BP ...

first they screwed up the Gulf and then they tried to take away the freedom of the press we enjoy to cover up how serious their fuck up is.

That pompous asshole Tony Hayward must consider himself a king with the right to shut up American civilians and the press. Maybe he forgot that we had a war with England to get out from under the rule of people like him.

What pissed me off was that it was beginning to look like Obama was kissing his ass when he should have been kicking it.