(Photo:  John Masson, USCG.)

Today the U.S. Coast Guard revised its 20-meter “safety zone” on oil spill cleanup operations in the Gulf of Mexico.  Journalists will now be granted entry if they have obtained credentials from the command.

To get credentials, media members must give their name, media affiliation, and contact info to the Unified Area Command Joint Information Center (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).

Reporters who are blocked from cleanup areas and are seeking recourse may call UAC JIC at 713-323-1670.

Incident Commander Thad Allen announced the decision to calm the righteous public uproar that followed his initial rule that was overly harsh, arguably unconstitutional, and certainly unenforceable. 

The rule had barred the public from coming within 65 feet of any cleanup equipment or crew without express permission from a single USCG office, and set penalties for violators of up to $40,000 and class D felony charges. 

It was the utmost of the chronic assaults that the Unified Command has made on free press since the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that triggered the gusher in the Gulf.  The government is now honoring its responsibility to protect the First Amendment rights of the news media who are in the Gulf breaking the story.

The justification for the rule was that an abundance of people, proximate to the cleanup but not involved, could pose an impediment to the effort and a safety threat.  The Coast Guard still requires that journalists in the course of their work not impede the process or pose safety risks, which is fair. 

Now at least the media will be treated like reporters covering a crime scene, rather than like criminals themselves.

The lesson here:  push back.  Ghandi style.