Drone journalism is coming to a newspaper and TV station near you within 60 days.
New Federal Aviation Administration rules on the flying devices opens the door to newsrooms using drones to cover events, peer into buildings and capture images like never before, according to the founder of the Drone Journalism Lab at the University of Nebraska.
“In 60 days, drone journalism will be legally possible in any newsroom in the United States. That’s not to say it will be easy, but it will be legally possible in ways that it has never been before,” wrote Matt Waite.
The long-awaited FAA rules, released this week, appear easy enough for newsrooms to comply with, he wrote on his blog.
“The news is reasonably good. There are still challenges, and we haven’t even talked about state and local laws that have been piling up while the FAA lumbered toward today. But the future of drones in journalism is much brighter today than it has ever been,” wrote Waite.
The new rules require a test and licensing of drone pilots. They also detail off-limits areas, but for many news events, drone use should be allowed. Limitations include flying directly over humans, and that would include sporting events. But Waite noted that most sporting events are under team rules and news drones are banned anyway.
In an earlier post looking at the rules, he said, “drones for journalism becomes very possible and very legal under these rules. Only a few things wouldn’t be allowed, and they’re minor in the grand scheme of things.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
