Journalists’ Group Opposes 911 Privacy Law

The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) has written a letter to Ohio legislators to express their opposition to a proposed bill that would prohibit radio, TV or other broadcast of 911 logging tapes, even though such tapes are considered to be public records. Senate Bill 105 was introduced last April by two members of the Ohio House to provide some measure of privacy for those making 911 calls. Under the bill, transcripts of the tapes could still be made and published. The SPJ letter says that prohibiting broadcast of 911 calls, “would impede the news media’s ability to effectively cover events that are important to Ohio residents.” The SPJ argues that transcripts don’t provide the “nuances” that a recording captures. “If audio recordings are banned from the public airwaves then it will be virtually impossible for citizens to hear how calls are being handled and effectively hold emergency response centers accountable,” the group wrote. Download the proposed bill here, and read the SPJ letter here. Read more about how the bill has stalled in the legislature here, and how the state senator who proposed it has no proof for some of his claims that some crime victims are deterred from dialing 911.