Law & Ethics

JOU/PRE 304
Drone Journalism
Case Study #2
April 28, 2016

Freddy Appau
Patrice Grande
Kenny Bates
Angela Lince
Kavita Singh
 Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS), or unmanned aerial systems (UAS), drones as they
are commonly called are making their way into the 21st century. Drones have recently been the
talk of extremely noticed companies such as Amazon, who is trying to use these aerial vehicles
as a second way of transportation to get packages delivered to their customers at a faster and
more efficient pace. However, not only are companies trying to use these vehicles, but journalists
are finding that these vehicles could be the new way to gain information.
Although, just recently drones have been coming into news media they have been around
for quite some time now. (1) Beginning in 2012, following the passage of the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) Modernization and Reform Act, the agency undertook a major effort to
prepare the national airspace for the arrival of unmanned aircraft. The FAA first authorized the
use of UAS in 1990, but its first major regulatory efforts have taken place in the past few years,
as interest in UAS has grown. Numerous test sites have been created as a way to assimilate the
drones into the nations airspace and to not abruptly bring these vehicles into the air without any
notice. The test sites are located in six states, predominantly located at universities as a way for
students to test out how well this form of journalism could potentially work out. The locations
are at the Griffiss International Airport site in New York, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University in Virginia, Texas A &M University at Corpus Christi, University of Alaska,
State of Nevada, as well as the North Dakota Department of Commerce.
These locations are test sites in which research goals will be attested to falling into six
categories: (1) System Safety and Data Gathering, Aircraft Certification, Command and Control
Link Issues, Control Station Layout and Certification, Ground and Airborne Sense and Avoid
and Environmental Impacts. There is no doubt that each test site will thoroughly go through each
of the tests in order to make sure the drones abide by each category in order for the UAS to be
used amongst the national airspace. These are the precautions that researches are taking in order
to bring drone journalism into the use of journalists throughout the nation.
Although the drones sound like an idea that would make journalism a little more
interesting, there are problems that have arisen that could potentially take away the use of
drones. The problems that drone journalism brings comes from an ethical, legal and safety issues
that have arisen. The safety issue that is of concern of many people is the fact that these drones
are made of blades, which allow the drone to fly. For the drone to continue movement, the blades
must be moving at all time which in turn could cause a problem. For instance, if the drone is
moving towards a crowd of people and one bystander gets excited and decides that it might be a
good idea to try and touch the drone, in turn his finger may be cut by the moving blade. (2)Drone
journalists must realize that potential for harm with their unmanned vehicle, and take all possible
measures to mitigate the odds of a crash. In regards to ethical terms, University of Nebraska
journalism professor, (3) Matt Waite brought the issue up stating, There would be similar
ethical issues for journalists covering people, citing a mother grieving over the gruesome murder
of her children he witnessed as a reporter some years ago. If such an event were covered in the
future by a number of journalists with small drones, they would be intrusive. Drone journalism
could break the rule of ethics because ethics does go beyond just the law.

(1) "Drone Journalism and the Law." UNC Center for Media Law and Policy. Web. 26 Apr.
2016.
(2) "Code of Ethics." Professional Society of Drone Journalists. Web. 27 Apr. 2016.
(3) Culver, Kathleen Bartzen. "Ethics Aloft: The Pros and Cons of Journalists Using
Drones." Ethics Aloft: The Pros and Cons of Journalists Using Drones. Web. 26 Apr.
2016.

Recently, drones have been looked upon as the new necessity, but these have been
active in our history books since the 1800s. We consider a drone to be mechanically operated,
but again, in the 1860s, different alternatives were put into place. During the Civil War, Union
and Confederate forces launched balloons loaded with explosives, intending for them to come
down inside supply and ammo depots, and explode. With the technology at hand, forces had to
be creative. Since then, U.S. forces and other countries have developed aerial vehicles that can
either fit one to two people, or just be controlled by remote.
In the technology-savvy world we live in today, we know there are safer alternatives.
In November of 2011, Matt Waite, a professor of journalism at the University of Nebraska,
founded the first journalism drone lab in the world. It was also the first journalism drone lab in
the world to get a cease and desist letter from the FAA. Waites story begins with himself
walking across a field, carrying a large metal briefcase. Waite stops, opens it, revealing what
looks like a model aircraft. Using a tablet computer, Waite selects part of the surrounding area on
a digital map, then transfers the flight plan to the model aircraft and launches it into the sky. It
flies on autopilot, taking thousands of pictures before landing in a pre-programmed zone. The
man removes a memory stick from the device and uploads the data for processing. A few hours
later, he's viewing a high-definition terrain map compiled from the photos. [1] These were the
necessary steps taken by Waite, in his product demo for the Gatewing X100. Waite reportedly
found the X100 during a visit to a major geographical technology event. Waite admired the
potential the drone could have for journalist and journalism as a whole.
According to the 2010 report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or
arbitrary executions, drones were originally developed to gather intelligence and conduct
surveillance and reconnaissance. Countries such as Israel, Russia, Turkey, China, India, Iran,
the United Kingdom, and France either have or are seeking drones that also have the capability
to shoot laser-guided missiles ranging in weight from 35 lbs to more than 100 lbs. The report
also noted that it is conceivable that non-state armed groups could obtain this technology. [2]
Looking towards the future, we see drones becoming smaller and condensed in size, like the
X100. Also, these journalistic drones dont cause pain among others (missiles and such).
 To get down to the very beginning, the issues that made the FAA really angry about
drones was Waites Nebraska Drought Story. In October 2012, shortly after Waites X100
findings, he took his students to cover a one of Nebraskas worst drought yet- worst that the Dust
Bowl. Waite and his student crew flew in a rural area, nowhere near airports or populated public
land, but because Waite was an employee of a public institution, the FAA ordered them to cease
unless Waite obtained a certificate of authorization. In an article by the National Press Club,
journalist Lorna Aldrich discovered that Waites group is now applying for a Certificate of
Waiver or Authorization, a procedure the FAA uses to authorize specific uses of drones.[3]
Already, drones were making their impact, but now, with a remote control in one hand and your
cell phone up in the sky recording, you must be aware that governmental controls are, cracking
down on drones entering private property and disrupting the peace.
Another issue shortly after was in 2011, a Texas hobbyist flew a remote controlled
airplane with a camera over the Columbia Packing Co. meat packing plant and saw that the
company was illegally dumping pig blood into the Trinity River, which runs through Dallas. The
hobbyist turned the images over to environmental regulators and the company was prosecuted
and shut down. U.S. military drones were also used to measure radiation levels at the Fukushima
nuclear plant in Japan after it was destroyed by the 2011 tsunami. Drones were able to collect
data and provide the first peek into the destroyed plant. Waite said this kind of environmental,
agricultural and meteorological research is what many journalists will do with drones. In fact,
Missouris drone journalism program has been doing just that. Theyve produced stories on
prairie fires and the migration patterns of snow geese, using aerial footage and data collected by
the drone.[4]
______________________________________________________________________________
[1] Matt Waite and the World's First Journalism Drone Lab | 3DR | Drone & UAV Technology.
(2014, March 21). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from
https://3dr.com/matt-waite-and-the-worlds-first-journalism-drone-lab/
[2] Drones. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from
http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/resources/fact-sheets/critical-issues/6737-drones
[3] Aldrich, L. (2014, July 24). Drone journalism raises legal, safety, ethical issues. Retrieved
April 28, 2016, from
http://www.press.org/news-multimedia/news/drone-journalism-raises-legal-safety-ethical-issues
[4] Chapa, L. (n.d.). Drone journalism begins slow take off. Retrieved April 28, 2016, from
http://www.rcfp.org/browse-media-law-resources/news-media-law/news-media-and-law-spring-
2013/drone-journalism-begins-slo
 When/where the problem occurs (Freddy)
World War II and before
The U.S. military has been conducting aerial surveillance from manned aircraft for
decades; however, the concept of drones did not gain much attention until after World War II.
The modern drone can be traced to the "target drones" used in the early 20th century. Over the
years U.S. drone has evolved through three phases: (1) the drone as a "target" (1910s-1950s), (2)
the drone as a "sensor" (1960s-1990s), and (4) the drone as a "weapon" (2000s-today). Early
target drones were used to test and train combat pilots and anti-aircraft gunners. The earliest of
these drones emerged during WWI. Developed in 1917, the rail-launched Kettering Aerial
Torpedo "Bug" was essentially an unmanned aerial torpedo guided by preset controls. After a
predetermined length of time, the engine would shut off, the wings were released, and the "Bug"
would plummet to the earth, where its explosives detonated on impact. The early
radio-controlled "Aerial Torpedo" was also developed in 1917 and could carry a 300-pound
bomb 50 miles. Both the "Bug" and the "Aerial Torpedo" were precursors to modern cruise
missiles. Renewed interest in remotely controlled vehicles during the late 1930s constructed the
next generation of "radio controlled" drones. Toward the end of the WWII these drones were
used as training targets for the U.S. Army Air Corps, and up to and throughout the 1960s drones
remained almost exclusively for use as "targets" for training.

Vietnam War
The Vietnam War marked the turning point where drones evolved from being "targets" to
remote "sensor" platforms. Concerned about losing pilots over hostile territory in 1959, the U.S.
Air Force began exploring the use of reconnaissance drones. While they are not highly effective,
you see a movement away from drones being used strictly as targets and a transition to sensory
or observational tools with the ability to locate and monitor enemies without placing troops in
danger.

Cold War and beyond

Drone technology saw progress again was during the Cold War. In the 1980s, the creation
of the "Albatross" drone marked the beginning of the drone as a weapon. The "Albatross" was
created by Abraham Karem, born in Baghdad. Karem emigrated from Israel to Los Angeles and
with the support of U.S. funding for research, he created the modern drone. While Vietnam War
era drones could stay in the air for only two hours, technological advances enabled the
"Albatross" to stay in the air for up to 56 hours. The "Albatross" demonstration led to the U.S.
military allocating funding into drone research and development. During this period the United
States developed the "Amber" and later the "GNAT-750," which was equipped with GPS
navigation and infrared and low-light cameras. Drone development stalled in the 1990s and the
Pentagon was forced to consolidate its research into a single joint program office. However, the
need for surveillance remerged during the Bosnian War in 1992 to 1995 and the Central
Intelligence Agency resumed drone development, resulting in creation of modern drones like the
"Predator." The "Predator" and the "Reaper" are currently in use in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
They carry TV cameras, image intensifiers, radar, infrared imaging for low-light conditions, and
lasers for targeting and can be armed with laser-guided missiles. The data they gather can then be
sent instantly via wireless and satellite connection halfway around the world, or to the handheld
devices of forces below. While traditional methods of military aerial surveillance made it
necessary for surveillance to be conducted from manned aircraft, advances in technology have
enabled more powerful methods of aerial surveillance. Drones are substantially less expensive to
operate and maintain than manned aircraft and are often used in situations where manned flight
is considered too risky or difficult. They have proven quite successful in reducing American
casualties and technology has made modern drones not only more powerful than their
predecessors, but also cheaper to produce. Simply, they are the ultimate cost-effective
mercenary. Average crew space on total volume is devoted to crew space.

Today
Up until recently, their use have been primarily restricted to the military, and the potential
benefits are increasing the pressure for domestic deployment. Drones are already being used by a
number of law enforcement agencies, and the FAA is considering allowing commercial use. The
FAA selected six drone research and test sites in December 2013, and these sites will continue
operations until at least February 13, 2017. The FAA recently approved the first commercial
drone flights over land to survey roads, pipelines, and other equipment in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
The manufacturer, Aero Vironment, conducted the flight for British with a 4-foot-long aircraft
in June 2014. Recently, an administrative law judge ruled that the FAA cannot ban from public
airspace flying robots or pilotless air vehicles owned by commercial enterprises. This decision
demonstrates how drones may no longer be restricted to military use but could eventually be a
part of daily life. Currently, the FAA is considering a request from movie and television
producers to allow drones to shoot "aerial video." Domino's pizza just recently used the
"DomiCopter" to deliver pizzas in the United Kingdom. Concerns presented by drones are
regulated inconsistently from state to state, and a model act would prove the most effective
method.

Drones over the years

1917: Sperry Aerial Torpedo, 1917: Kettering Aerial Torpedo, 1935: DH.82B Queen Bee, 1944:
V-1 (Revenge Weapon-1), 1955: Ryan Firebee, 1963: Lockheed M-21 and D-21, 1986: The
Pioneer RQ-2A, 1994: MQ Predator drone, 2004: RQ-7B Shadow 200, 2005: Fire Scout Firing
Rocket, 2009: RQ-170 Sentinel, 2010: Global Hawk, U.S. RQ-170 SENTINEL (Operated by the
U.S. Air Force's Air Combat Command's 432nd Wing, the drone supports combatant needs for
intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance)
Nichols, Judge C. Philip. "Drones." Judges' Journal 53.4 (2014): 20-25. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

"Drones: A Photo History." Foreign Policy 192 (2012): 1. Points of View Reference Center.
Web. 22 Apr. 2016.

Three and a half years ago, journalist Matt Waite and students decided to build the

Drone Journalism Lab, where they built and flew drones to scope out the landscape. In the

summer of 2013, Waite opened a cease-and-desist notice from the Federal Aviation

Administration, which had taken notice of his activities and demanded the drones be grounded

[2]. The agency prohibits the use of drones for commercial purposes.

However, the FAA is supposed to regulate the use of drones in 2016, with the provision

of journalists having their pilots license in January 2016. Waite makes a valid point as smaller

journalism industries would have a harder time getting both a pilots license. Additionally,

despite the current ban of drones being commercially used, bigger companies, such as CNN,

have gotten exemptions. [1]

By February, the mandatory pilots license was changed [FAA press release]. Now,

journalists must pass an FAA administered test to get an operators certificate. In February, a

once frustrated Waite said the regulations were surprisingly reasonable.

However, with so many provisions and regulations, this poses a problem with journalists.

There can be no freedom of the press when the government is restricting journalist because they

fit in the category of media.

 On one hand, journalists are being restricted. On the other hand, it is simply to prevent

drones from becoming a safety hazard.

Solutions to the problem, steps/measures being taken (Kenny)

http://www.niemanlab.org/2015/02/new-rules-governing-drone-journalism-are-on-the-way-and-t
heres-reason-to-be-optimistic/
https://medialaw.unc.edu/resources/drone-journalism/

http://www.poynter.org/2016/why-2016-could-be-a-breakout-year-for-drone-journalism/390386/

Federal Aviation Administration. (2015). Regulations will facilitate integration of small UAS
into U.S. aviation system [Press Release]. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/mc246qe

Solutions to the problem

The solution to the problems surrounding drone journalism isnt simple, but rather one

fraught with complications and difficulties. The Federal Aviation Administrations Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking is the FAAs latest attempt to compromise by outlining new requirements

for small unmanned aircraft. The proposed rules are a part of the FAAs goals to allow routine

use of certain small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in todays aviation system, while

maintaining flexibility to accommodate future technological innovations. [FAA press release]

Some of the guidelines are sensible, such as height restrictions, drone registration and
certifications, however other requirements severely limit their journalistic possibilities. The

proposed guidelines will disallow travel over uninvolved people, meaning the journalists cannot

fly overtop protests, parades, or select disasters. While safety should remain a paramount

concern, the FAA should seek more alternative ways for journalists to effectively and safely use

drone journalism.