Saturday, May 25, 2013
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Media Strict rules for journalists covering Guantanamo Bay
Posted by Kelsey Fowler on Wed, Jul 7, 2010 at 1:00 PM
At Guantanamo Bay, journalists encounter some of most strange and specific restrictive media rules anywhere.
- Please don't feed the iguanas.
Whether good or bad, or just plain amusing, here are just some of the regulations journalist Sharon Weinberger, a contributor on aolnews.com, says journalists encountered at Guantanamo Bay this past week:
-Representatives of the media must sit at the back of the plane to and from Guantanamo.-Absolutely no doodling while in the courtroom (note taking, however, is allowed).
-No pictures of of the "expeditionary legal complex" (the new building housing a courtroom used for trials and hearings), and no pictures are allowed inside any of the courtrooms.
-No pictures inside the Guantanamo Bay McDonald's (after several days of discussion, it was determined that pictures of the outside would be acceptable).
-Representatives of the media and non-governmental organizations cannot travel in the same van to and from the hearings.
-No feeding of the iguanas (applies also to non-press).
-No unaccompanied trips to the beach (concertina wire was put up after a few ambitious trial observers purportedly jumped the Jersey barriers).
-At Camp Justice, where journalists stayed, no more than three lines of tents may appear in any one picture.
-Media may jog along an approved path, but only with a reflective belt (presumably applies to non-media as well).
-No pictures of any person on Guantanamo without their express approval.
