Why Prohibit the Broadcast of 9-1-1 Calls?

At least one Ohio lawmaker would like to make it illegal for broadcasters to play 9-1-1 tapes for the public. If he gets his way, doing so would result in a $10,000 fine.

Last time around, this bill went nowhere. But, it raises some interesting questions for me as a journalist and broadcaster.

First, passing such a bill would result in yet another exemption to the state’s sunshine laws, which are designed to provide transparency in government. In my book that’s a huge black mark for any legislative measure. However, as much as I love the sunshine laws, I have bigger problems with this particular proposal.

It has been my experience that most of the time when we play a 9-1-1 recording it happens at the request of law enforcement. Rarely is a tape requested for our own investigative reporting purposes. When we play these recordings, we are attempting to assist our local authorities in the execution of their jobs. It’s a service we provide to the public and integral to fulfilling our important role in the system of distributing information.

Here’s a case in point: At WMOA and WJAW, we recently played a series of 9-1-1 tapes at the request of law enforcement. The recordings were provided to members of the press without a formal request for the purpose of broadcasting to enlist the public’s assistance in the identification of a suspect. These particular recordings involved a series of fake bomb threats called in about our two local hospitals, Marietta College and Wal-Mart.

It’s the only time this year that we have used any 9-1-1 recordings for broadcasting purposes.

What would it accomplish to prohibit this kind of reporting? Who would be served by refusing access to the recordings themselves?

I can’t say for certain what is driving this legislation, but it makes me wonder how much certain legislators understand about the necessarily cooperative relationship between media and law enforcement.