lonesomexloveus Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 http://www.naturalnews.com/029130_Gulf_of_Mexico_censorship.html As CNN is now reporting, the U.S. government has issued a new rule that would make it a felony crime for any journalist, reporter, blogger or photographer to approach any oil cleanup operation, equipment or vessel in the Gulf of Mexico. Anyone caught is subject to arrest, a $40,000 fine and prosecution for a federal felony crime.CNN reporter Anderson Cooper says, "A new law passed today, and back by the force of law and the threat of fines and felony charges, ... will prevent reporters and photographers from getting anywhere close to booms and oil-soaked wildlife just about any place we need to be. By now you're probably familiar with cleanup crews stiff-arming the media, private security blocking cameras, ordinary workers clamming up, some not even saying who they're working for because they're afraid of losing their jobs." that's a little disturbing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkticon Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Solution: stand 66 feet away, use 200mm zoom lens. The worst part about all of that is that the original appeal was for 300 feet of distance, not 65. Or maybe the worst part about it is that now it's a worse offense to shoot photos of an oil spill than it is to cause one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjustinxschwierx Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 there's no many amateur environmentalists that will do "reporting" and donate the info/reporting to a legit news source... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonesomexloveus Posted July 7, 2010 Author Share Posted July 7, 2010 Or maybe the worst part about it is that now it's a worse offense to shoot photos of an oil spill than it is to cause one. my thoughts exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silentgods Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 bullshiiiit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicker Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 this shit makes me so fucking mad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mygreatdevastator Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 this shit makes me so fucking mad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drabley Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Just claim you're a tourist. I didn't read anything about that. Claim you spent your entire savings on a two week long family trip to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, so damnit if you're not getting some shots for the photo albums. Then give some random woman and her children $50 each to walk around with you for the day and pretend to be your family. To further sell your story, make shirts that say "I went to South Louisiana and all I got was this lousy oil spill." Everyone wins. Or just do the zoom lens thingy. Seems less dramatic, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayeffscene Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 America: Fuck up and cover up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkticon Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 It doesn't matter if you officially represent a news organization or not. They're flying this in under the "for your safety" umbrella in order to strictly enforce it. It's for "our safety" that we're not allowed near oil soaked animals, beaches, and booms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattisr1984 Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 dont you guys know? everything is "for your safety." you dont know whats best for you, but "they" do. also, nothing thats "for your safety" would come with a 40k fine. its against the law to not wear your seatbelt -- its for your safety -- but last i checked, it wasn't a felony or a 40k ticket for not doing so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkticon Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcm1610 Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Who gives a shit. Do we need more pictures of dying ducks and little oil blobs? It's not like no one knows what's going on anymore. Just let them clean up and find something else to prat on about for 18 hours a day. The news is embarrassingly bad anyway, with their "breaking" stories about nothing. Fuck'em. If the gov't spends the $40k from each fine on cleanup, then we all win anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonesomexloveus Posted July 7, 2010 Author Share Posted July 7, 2010 so...you're totally cool with the government censoring the media? cuz i'm not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkticon Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Just let them clean up and find something else to prat on about for 18 hours a day. They'll get right on that... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/06/eveningnews/main6652191.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcm1610 Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 so...you're totally cool with the government censoring the media? cuz i'm not.From what I've read, it's not a sweeping general law. There's been 2 and a half months of them taking the same pictures, getting in the way, and just being annoying. I am absolutely ok with the government saying "go the fuck away" for a bit.With cameras built into every piece of electronics that come out of any factory these days, censoring the media is impossible anyway. Maybe I'm just skewed because this is a slap to 24-hour news networks, which are the worst thing to happen to news EVER. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldsnap Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 what's even worst is that they are able to spend billions and billions of dollars for space missions but can't fix this enormous mistake which takes place on our own planet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcm1610 Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 This quote: With this, the Gulf Coast cleanup operation has now entered a weird Orwellian reality where the news is shaped, censored and controlled by the government in order to prevent the public from learning the truth about what's really happening in the Gulf. is absolutely in the same sensationalist "news" realm as Fox anyway. They're not shaping anyone's opinion - we're 79 or whatever goddamn days into this - EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON. If they don't, their opinion obviously doesn't matter because they can't be bothered to stay informed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonesomexloveus Posted July 7, 2010 Author Share Posted July 7, 2010 so...you're totally cool with the government censoring the media? cuz i'm not.From what I've read, it's not a sweeping general law. There's been 2 and a half months of them taking the same pictures, getting in the way, and just being annoying. I am absolutely ok with the government saying "go the fuck away" for a bit.With cameras built into every piece of electronics that come out of any factory these days, censoring the media is impossible anyway. Maybe I'm just skewed because this is a slap to 24-hour news networks, which are the worst thing to happen to news EVER. as a photographer, i don't like my rights being taken away for doing something innocuous. if they can do this and get away with it, what's to stop them from enacting other laws along these lines? there's already major problems with police harrassing and trying to falsely arrest photographers in cities, etc. in this specific incident, however, no one will ever convince me that it's not at least a partial cover-up for bp's bumbling and non-effective efforts to clean the spill up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcm1610 Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Then bitch about the real problem - corporate personhood and the influence of corporate money on our government. I don't need another picture of oil on sand - I know what that looks like. What I need is the government to remember it is of and by the people - which highlights another problem worth pointing out - no one intended for career politicians, yet that's who we are run by these days. They don't know what the average person wants because they no longer are one. The reason senators get so much time off is because they had to go back home and tend to their real jobs. The article also points out another spot photographers shouldn't be - warzones. Why the fuck did 10 million reporters have to embed into units at the start of this war, and why was anyone surprised when they started dying? How can someone be such a piece of shit that they think they deserve the right to put extra weight on soldiers to protect their useless asses by traveling around combat areas without a rifle? If I wanted to see dead people, I'd go to a morgue - you can tell me that 5 people died, I don't need to see pictures of the 5 soldiers. Again - sensationalist news looking for shock value rather than actually informing anyone. Maybe photographers would be allowed to take pictures of the gulf if they didn't interfere with the process. Get the hell out of the way - stop bugging the workers - stop doing whatever else the article said we're used to seeing. It's like the paparazzi - they're just everywhere because they think they deserve to be. If you need a picture to update us on something, update the us on the process itself - don't try to tug at our heartstrings by finding another bird that can't fly because of the oil. Stand at the 65-foot line and take a picture of what is actually happening in the cleanup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonesomexloveus Posted July 7, 2010 Author Share Posted July 7, 2010 i don't think you get what i'm saying here. and as far as photographers in war zones, i think it's important to document things for the future. many photographers use their art to create awareness of problems. saying 'x number of people were murdered and brutally raped in sudan' doesn't have quite the impact that seeing images of that does. (see, http://www.thedevilcameonhorseback.com/ ) photos from places like iraq, or afghanistan aren't sensationalized; they can't be embellished under those conditions. i don't know how you could say photos of actual events taking place don't inform people. you like/teach/study history. what would history books be for school age kids (or anyone for that matter) without photographs documenting what happened? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkticon Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 The BP/government apologists are an interesting type. Do you not believe that transparency in government and corporations would serve to benefit? Step away from the current situation and understand that limiting citizens and the press' right to know and report exactly what's going on is detrimental in every situation imaginable. Enough shady shit already occurs, we don't need more closed doors and turned backs. You might not want to look at any more photos of oil covered birds and beaches but without the constant reminder to the public do you think BP would INCREASE productivity? Or just hope everyone forgets and attempts to wipe their hands clean of the situation? While I agree that 24 hour news networks are redundant and annoying, ignorance is even worse to live with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattisr1984 Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 oh, hey - not to mention the dangerous precedent it sets for future situations such as this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 how about instead of reporting day in and day out, those reporters and everyone down there help with the clean up instead of just talking about it. stay out of the way of the people actually DOING something, i'd be annoyed as fuck if i were down there actually cleaning up the oil spill and some schmuck on a boat was getting in the way of the work I was doing. how much cleaning do you think the staff of cnn, nbc, cbs, abc, fox, etc, have done vs. the hours of reporting about how bad its getting down there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lokithelion Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Christ some of you people have way too much faith in BP. And Obama. This is so there is no public record of what actually happened, only the corporate record. Relying only on BP to report what really happened is akin to letting a murderer be the sole testimony in their trial. Also in before Oakland shouts that this somehow proves Obama is anti big business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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