Editorial: Media access to the gulf oil spill - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

Editorial: Media access to the gulf oil spill

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By Mark Wilder - email

  • Editorials

  • Thursday, May 16 2013 7:20 PM EDT2013-05-16 23:20:04 GMT
    In my editorial on Tuesday I chided our legislators for being the last state to pass a no-brainer  bill legalizing home brewing.  Today I want to challenge them to be one of the first states to pass another no-brainer;
    In my editorial on Tuesday I chided our legislators for being the last state to pass a no-brainer  bill legalizing home brewing.  Today I want to challenge them to be one of the first states to pass another no-brainer;

  • Tuesday, May 14 2013 7:20 PM EDT2013-05-14 23:20:07 GMT
    Kudos, or perhaps, cheers to the Alabama Legislature for passing HB9, the home brewing bill. Legalized home brewing may not be up there with education reform or prison funding, but it was overdue. 
    Kudos, or perhaps, cheers to the Alabama Legislature for passing HB9, the home brewing bill. Legalized home brewing may not be up there with education reform or prison funding, but it was overdue. 

  • Thursday, May 9 2013 7:20 PM EDT2013-05-09 23:20:06 GMT
    What was the old Pan-Am gas station at the corner of Bibb and Coosa is now no longer.  Last weekend that landmark was demolished with nothing remaining where it once stood other than the outline of a foundation. What
    What was the old Pan-Am gas station at the corner of Bibb and Coosa is now no longer.  Last weekend that landmark was demolished with nothing remaining where it once stood other than the outline of a foundation. What
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Editorial – Media access to gulf oil spill – 7-20-2010

Last week BP finally capped the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but only after somewhere between 93 and 184 million gallons of crude oil polluted our coastline, depending on whose estimate you believe.  BP has grossly underestimated the flow of oil since day one of this disaster. 

Three weeks ago, the federal government's oil response director, Thad Allen, put severe restrictions on media coverage.  His rule kept reporters and news photographers at least 65 feet away from boom, too far away to show the shocking reality of the damage. 

Now, that policy has been reversed.  Last week Allen announced that media with proper credentials will have unfettered access to this event.  That access should never have been denied.

If there is a silver lining at all to this fiasco, it may be the intense media coverage that has been showing the nation, and the world, the importance of protecting our gulf coastline.

All citizens have the right to know how their property, their livelihoods, and their very lives are being affected by events such as this.  Let's hope that after more than 90 days, the federal government and BP have learned that they won't fix this problem by trying to hide it.