New rules governing drone journalism are on the way — and there’s reason to be optimistic — niemanlab.org

Today we got our first real look into what the FAA intends to do about regulating drones in U.S. airspace — and frankly, it’s surprisingly flexible and permissive given what the agency has required of users up to now. Put simply, drones for journalism becomes very possible and very legal under these rules. Only a few things wouldn’t be allowed, and they’re minor in the grand scheme of things. Before we get into what’s in the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), you need to understand something: This is a proposal. These are not the final rules. Drones for commercial use are just as restricted today as they were yesterday. These rules won’t go into place for some time. If everything goes perfectly, it’ll take about a year. If there’s controversy and tens of thousands of people comment, it could be two years or more before some version of these rules go into place. So if you’re a news director or photo editor and getting your credit card out based on today’s announcement, slow your roll.

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