Media Restrictions Along Gulf Coast Indicative Of National Press Issues, Free Press Advocate Says

By Brandon Kosters - Talk Radio News Service

Clothilde Le Coz, the Washington Director of Reporters Without Borders, told Talk Radio News that it’s problematic that the Coast Guard has imposed rules that limit press access to Deepwater Horizon response operations, but that this “kind of decision happens in a broad context for the media” often, indicating that “the U.S. [is] not that transparent.”

Le Coz said that photographers are “the ones who are the most targeted by [this] kind of restriction,” and cited the example of White house photographers, who she said “have been boycotting certain meetings because they have faced too much restrictions on their work.”

“It’s another attempt to constrain the reporters on a certain level of information.”

The rules imposed by the Coast Guard prohibit anyone from coming with 65 feet of booms and response operations. Violators could be fined $40,000 and charged with a felony. Reporters and photographers must get permission from the Coast Guard to gain access to restricted areas.

The Coast Guard claims that it is trying to protect the safety of response workers, but many journalists believe that this is a move to limit press coverage of the disaster.