As his administration implements its policies, Obama may become the darling of the electronic news coverage media for more reasons than the simple fact that he provides a story-rich environment for television reporters. Some TV journalists, in fact, hint that they expect improvements in their ability to report on government.
News Coverage and the First Amendment
Most reporters, including TV news reporters, view the First Amendment as part of the infrastructure of democracy and, as a result, support accountability initiatives that enable a free press to act as a vigorous watchdog by thorough reporting on government spending and other actions.
One industry organization, the Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), points out that Obama wants more transparency in government. In the U.S. Senate, Obama cosponsored legislation creating USAspending.gov, the web site that allows quick searches of databases detailing government contract expenditures. Television journalists can use it to find government spending facts quickly and accurately.
Obama also cosponsored what the RTNDA characterizes as the most sweeping reform of the Federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in 40 years. The OPEN Government Act, according to the RTNDA, eliminates delays and backlogs in the FOIA process that TV reporters saw as obstacles to their ability to open government activity to public scrutiny.
Obama Supports Federal Shield Law for Reporters
Obama’s most profound impact on broadcast journalism may be through the Free Flow of Information Act, a bill offering safeguards that TV reporters and other journalists have sought for decades. It would allow reporters to protect confidential sources, and Obama endorsed it. This suggests that if the new Democrat-controlled Congress finally passes the bill, Obama is likely to sign it. The Bush administration opposed it and had threatened a veto.
Without confidential sources such as insiders and whistleblowers, reporters argue, it’s impossible to crack major stories and preserve the public’s right to know about important developments, many of which involve controversy over government actions or failures. In the past four years more than 40 reporters in the U.S. have been questioned, subpoenaed, jailed or threatened with fines over their refusal to disclose identities of confidential sources.
Obama Wants Review of Wireless Spectrum, a Concern of Television Reporters
A strong proponent of technology, Obama supports a review of the entire wireless broadcast spectrum, including the commercial portions used by television journalists. While many TV reporters embrace new technology devices that speed their electronic news gathering, they also have some concerns about recent proposals.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plan to allow use of unlicensed devices in the broadcast spectrum alarmed many in TV journalism. Live reporting from remote locations involves use of wireless microphones, which are licensed. Unlicensed devices, the industry fears, could interfere with their licensed broadcasts, a potentially dangerous prospect in the case of TV news coverage involving emergencies that may require evacuations or other public safety measures.
Here, too, Obama’s influence may sway the future for TV news as he is expected to appoint at least two new members to the FCC.
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