The War On Journalism Means That Bloggers Will Become More Vital To The Circulation of News

The AP (here, carried by the San Francisco Chronicle) reports that
recorded conversations reveal flight restrictions requested in August by
 the police force of Ferguson, MO, and agreed to by Federal aviation
safety officials, were specifically intended to limit the access of journalists
 to the area, rather than purely in response to safety concerns.



 One FAA
 manager in Kansas City was recorded saying police "did not care if you
ran commercial traffic through this TFR (temporary flight restriction)
all day long.



They didn't want media in there."

"There is really ... no option for a [Temporary Flight Restriction]
that says, you know, 'OK, everybody but the media is OK,'" he said.



 The
managers then worked out wording they felt would keep news helicopters
out of the controlled zone but not impede other air traffic. 



The conversations contradict claims by the St. Louis County Police
Department, which responded to demonstrations following the shooting
death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, that the restriction was solely for
safety and had nothing to do with preventing media from witnessing the
violence or the police response. 



Police said at the time, and again as recently as late Friday to the AP,
 that they requested the flight restriction in response to shots fired
at a police helicopter.
But police officials confirmed there was no damage to their helicopter
and were unable to provide an incident report on the shooting.



 On the
tapes, an FAA manager described the helicopter shooting as unconfirmed
"rumors."



The war on Journalism continues.

 http://www.salon.com/2013/06/28/obamas_war_on_journalism/