|
POMA Chairman to Testify Before Congress
JOHNSTOWN, Penn. — With resounding membership
support, Professional Outdoor Media Association
(POMA) Chairman Steve Scott will represent POMA
as he testifies before Congress Dec. 12, 2007.
During his testimony, which will become part of
the Congressional Record, Scott will express
concerns to the Committee on Natural Resources
about the costs of land-use fees charged to the
media when photographing on public lands.
More than 95 percent of POMA members, who
responded to a query about whether or not Scott
should testify on behalf of POMA, agreed with
Scott’s position on the issue and requested that
he testify for the organization.
The full hearing, beginning at 10 a.m. Dec. 12,
will be Webcast live on the committee's Web site
http://resourcescommittee.house.gov. Interested
parties may also review and print Scott's
complete testimony from the POMA public Web
site, www.professionaloutdoormedia.org.
Scott’s testimony will touch on the
following points:
·
The Department of Interior's (DOI) mission is to
sustain, conserve and provide access to our
natural resources. Traditional outdoor media
play a critical role in disseminating the
message of conservation and provide vicarious
access to public lands to our citizens.
·
Excessive land-use fees are regressive in
nature, discourage traditional outdoor media's
access to public lands and are contrary to DOI's
mission.
·
The definition of news coverage in the proposed
rules is vague and restrictive and thus should
be clarified and broadened. The proposed rule
allows DOI agencies to classify as "commercial
filming" activities which are clearly news
coverage, such as news documentaries or coverage
of resource management issues.
·
A distinction should be drawn between large
Hollywood-style location shoots and traditional
outdoor photographers and videographers, with an
exemption for small crews and photographers.
Currently, some agencies charge the same
land-use fee for one videographer as is charged
for a crew of up to 29.
·
If the Government does charge land-use fees on
public land, the regulations and fees should be
proportional to actual use and consistent
between various DOI agencies and states.
###
For more information, contact:
Laurie Lee Dovey,
Executive Director
lldovey@professionaloutdoormedia.org
814-254-4719 |
