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Showing posts with the label First Amendment

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's Censorship and Doublespeak

So you Wanna Be A Citizen Journalist? Here are a few tips!

Los Angeles, CA —We are now in a truly multimedia world.   TV and Newspapers are on life support because of declining viewers and readership.   Today’s people want news on their terms, instantly, short, sweet and with compelling video. People want to see news on the iPhones and IPads.   They want it while they are between tasks. They seek it out while in the grocery checkout line or when waiting at the barber’s office or hair salon. The opportunities for citizen journalists are starting to surface.   Today the pay may be low but now’s the time to prepare.   You can be creative and lead the pack or be left in the dirt. You need writing skills.   Hopefully you learned them in school. Multimedia is the venue.   That means writing, photography, video and video editing.   You must be a master of all media forms.   You also need to learn how to transfer your work to the Internet.   Most people have some of these skills right now. ...

Flying Drones Over Private Property and Asking Permission

Los Angeles, CA —Many people consider the airspace  above the property that they own or lease is theirs.    Some have actually used firearms to shoot at drones somehow thinking that was somehow justified. Federal and state laws universally ban shooting at aircraft.   There are heavy penalties for shooting at drones or any aircraft, even UFOs.   Many drone operators operate on ignorance and have bought into the idea that there is or may be private ownership rights to airspace above private property. The law is simple, our airspace is shared public property.   Exclusively, the FAA regulates aircraft including drones operating in our airspace.   State and local governments cannot make or enforce laws regulating aircraft in our airspace.   Many local jurisdictions have tried out of the simple ignorance of their lawmakers.   Those laws they have already placed on the books are unenforceable due to the FAA preemption. Have the helicopt...

Public Relations for Drone Pilots has Challenges

Los Angeles, CA —The explosion of civilian multi-rotor camera drones is just beginning.   People are reacting to seeing them for the first time.   My experiences with the public seeing my drones in action has been mixed.   Thankfully the vast majority of people are amazed and they enjoy seeing them fly. A minority of “drone detractors” react with exhibitions of hostility, hatred and ignorance.   In the last two years I’ve had just a scant few unsettling encounters while flying my drone. For reasons I don’t understand I’ve been only been confronted by women.   They advise me I’m breaking the law, and then they call or threaten to call the cops.   They obviously don’t know the law.   I usually ignore them, shoot my video and leave the area when my flight is over.   If the cops respond to their call I don’t know because I’ve always moved on prior to their arrival.   Three women on separate occasions were downright nasty and even e...

Interesting Statistics Regarding the Little Camera Drones and Safety

Los Angeles, CA –Nearly everywhere there are some frightened members of Congress, various state legislatures and city councils that are considering ways to ban or severely regulate the little multi-rotor camera drones.   Must we always adopt the Chicken Little fear that the sky is falling ? The FAA would like to expand their budget and manpower by at least tenfold or more to regulate every 12 year-old boy with a camera drone in America.   Can the FAA be trusted to not create or engage hysteria when they have so much to gain?   We all know the answer to that! Pilots everywhere, especially those flying helicopters see the very clear handwriting on the wall.   Inexpensive and substantially safer drones will soon replace half of them. Careers are at stake here .   Should we be surprised those pilots are making the most noise condemning camera drone?    Fighting camera and delivery drones through propaganda scare tactics is already i...

Camera Drones are Voraciously Addictive!

Los Angeles, CA —If my blog seems to have so much content related to camera drones it’s because I hopelessly hooked! I find myself adding sites to my bucket list every day.   Most of them are in far away places.   Here are two of my latest shoots.   Please enjoy!

The New Politics of Civilian Drone Regulation

Los Angeles, CA —As a long time photographer, licensed private investigator and television journalist I have to weigh in on drone regulation. For me it all began for me as a Chicago cop long ago.   I’m also a Viet Nam Era veteran. First of all there are no recorded deaths from the consumer drones that photographers are using.   Injuries and property damage has so far been so insignificant as to be totally off the radar. Our drone cameras are no different that your cell phone cameras.   You have to get really close for a recognizable face shot.   The cameras drone operators are using are not suited for such portrait photography.    Privacy concerns are way over-rated and are only a figment of paranoid imaginations . Our drones are electric and are not capable of making noise disturbances.   Yes, drones can be misused just like rocks, scissors and paper.   You can make a weapon out of anything and cause damage or harm....