1st Amendment, YouTube meet on public lands

New media such as Web-based news outlets and technology such as high-performance consumer video cameras are challenging land managers and media producers alike as officials try to decide who should pay for commercial filming and photography permits on public lands. Both the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service have policies that require some photographers and videographers to obtain permits, depending on circumstances. While those covering “breaking news” are exempt from obtaining permits, as contemplated in the Constitution, government bureaucrats, not news editors, are deciding what meets that definition. The issue recently came to a head in Idaho when U.S. Forest Service officials denied Idaho Public Television permission to film a group of students in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. The Forest Service later relented after intervention from Idaho Gov. C. L. “Butch” Otter. In Jackson Hole, film and video producers say the permit requirements pose an unnecessary burden on smaller operators that might not have the cash to pay the processing charges and daily fees, which can amount to thousands of dollars for just a few days of filming. Where filming a documentary previously required lots of equipment and personnel, today’s filmmakers can achieve similar results with a single hand-held camera and a tripod, without many of the resource and visitor impacts associated with bigger crews...more