South Carolina Lawmaker wants to start a Journalism Registry Law
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A South Carolina state representative wants to force Journalists to register with the state and he wants the government to set guidelines for who can be a journalist and keep a registry of those doing "responsible" work.
Seems reasonable don't you think?
HuffPo writes that in his "South Carolina Responsible Journalism Registry Law," Mike Pitts (R) calls for the state to "establish requirements for persons before working as a journalist for a media outlet and for media outlets before hiring a journalist."
Pitts' bill would require the South Carolina Secretary of State's office to establish and operate a "responsible journalism registry." The law also calls for "fines and criminal penalties" for those who violate its statutes.
Damn! That could get expensive real quick.
Pitts did not make it clear in the legislation what criteria the government would use to decide who's a journalist, or what exactly constitutes noncompliance with the law. But, were fairly certain that CNN's Don Lemon would not be able to work in the state.
Just saying....
