Government Limiting Reports on Gulf Spill?

Now things are starting to get a little creepy.  First, earlier this morning I spied a headline about some media outlets complaining that they are being denied access to the gulf area.  Then, I read that the FAA is banning flights over the Gulf area.

First, from The New York Times:

Efforts to Limit the Flow of Spill News

...

Journalists struggling to document the impact of the oil rig explosion have repeatedly found themselves turned away from public areas affected by the spill, and not only by BP and its contractors, but by local law enforcement, the Coast Guard and government officials. 

To some critics of the response effort by BP and the government, instances of news media being kept at bay are just another example of a broader problem of officials’ filtering what images of the spill the public sees. 

Scientists, too, have complained about the trickle of information that has emerged from BP and government sources. Three weeks passed, for instance, from the time the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20 and the first images of oil gushing from an underwater pipe were released by BP. 

...

from NOLA.com:

Limits on access to oiled waters, coast frustrates journalists

... In a statement, the FAA maintains that BP employees or contractors are not calling the shots on who gets to fly into the restricted air space, saying those decisions are made by the FAA and Coast Guard. But agency spokespeople acknowledge that media access is limited, saying they are only allowing flights into the restricted area that are directly related to the disaster response.

While news organizations won't be allowed to hire planes or helicopters, the FAA plans to arrange pool flights through the Coast Guard, said Laura Brown, the FAA's deputy assistant administrator for public affairs.
...

Sporadic incidents of media outlets being blocked from access to oil-coated beaches or other areas have cropped up in recent weeks. A little more than a week ago, CBS Evening News aired a report showing BP contractors on a boat, along with two Coast Guard officials, who told a news crew to get off an oil-stained beach.

"This is BP's rules, not ours," a man can be heard saying.
...
The Coast Guard put out a statement by Lt. Commander Rob Wyman in response to that incident saying that there are no rules by either BP or the agency to "prohibit media access to impacted areas, and we are disappointed to hear of this incident." The Coast Guard, in fact, has given the media hundreds of opportunities to "embed" with boats and aircraft, the statement said.

A Newsweek article posted online earlier this week quoted Associated Press photographer Gerald Herbert recounting a trip to the Breton National Wildlife Refuge with Jean-Michel Cousteau and Plaquemines Parish officials. When stopped by a Coast Guard boat, the party was denied access after learning that journalists were on board, according to the article.
...

Later today, I found this over at GatewayPundit:

Oil Slick, What Oil Slick?… Feds Ban Flights Over Affected Gulf Coast Region

 

Posted by Jim Hoft on Saturday, June 12, 2010, 11:05 PM

The Federal Aviation Administration banned flights over the GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL AND AFFECTED COASTLINE this week.



After all, all of those flights might lead to nasty photos and more bad press for President Whiner.

Director Blue has an update.

Obama’s average approval rating dropped to 47% this week.

Now, if you click on the above "banned flights" link, you will get from the FAA a logical explanation for the banned flights.  Here's a partial list (emphasis added):

All aircraft operations are prohibited except those flights authorized by ATC, routine flights supporting offshore oil operations; federal, state, local and military flight operations supporting oil spill recovery and reconstitution efforts; and air medical and law enforcement operations.

1. All pilots operating within and near this area including the shoreline should exercise extreme caution due to the numerous low level operations associated with the deepwater horizon/mc-252 incident 3000 feet and below.
2. Aircraft involved in these operations may make sudden changes in direction, speed, and altitude. For additional information, participating aircraft altitude assignments and awareness, all pilots are recommended to review the following web site dedicated to the aviation cleanup efforts at: https://1afnorth.Region1.Ang.Af.Mil/deepwater_spill/default.Aspx

So, perhaps concern (paranoia?) about the flight ban might be a bit premature.  I can see the extreme danger the support aircraft might pose to commercial flights to be a very valid one.  But Obama's Big Brother government does cause one to have chills run down one's spine when reading headlines like these.