FAA, Drone Photojournalism, And The First Amendment
“Our Native drone pilots are out there showing to the world what we're witnessing - which is the desecration from the Dakota Access Pipeline”
-- Myron Dewey, Digital Smoke Signals
“Without this drone technology, we wouldn’t be where we’re at with this battle against the Dakota Access pipeline. Drones are very beneficial — they’re our eagle eyes in the sky.”
– Dean Dedman Jr./Dr0ne2bwild
Drone photojournalist. That's a new term describing photojournalists who cover news events using small drones. The potential to cover news events with these amazing new – and affordable – machines has the potential to revolutionize journalism by opening up new avenues for coverage to individuals and organizations that previously did not have the means to either own or hire a helicopter or small plane.
Despite this new potential there is one organization that has the ability to thwart this kind of coverage – the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Charged by the federal government to regulate the national airspace for safety and efficiency of shared use, the FAA is the lone authority regulating the national airspace.