Bill: Vote Empowering Journalists Act

[emilypancakes22]

CONGRESS OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF REDMONT
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A BILL TO

EMPOWER JOURNALISTS




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The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:


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PART I — PRELIMINARIES

1. Short Title and Enactment

(1) This Act may be cited as the ‘Empowering Journalists Act’

(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.

(3) This Act has been authored by Senataor Ameslap.

(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by Rep. emilypancakes22.

2. Reasons and Intent

(1) Promote informed debate.

(2) Ensure fair, equal, and transparent access to public officials.

(3) Make journalism a license to apply for instead of a trade.

3. Definitions

(1) For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) Journalist. A person engaged in the regular gathering, verification, and dissemination of information of public interest.

(b) Licensed Journalist. A journalist holding a valid license issued under this Act.

PART II — EQUAL ACCESS AND NON-RETALIATION

4. Journalist Specific Channel

(1) There will be a channel in the DemocracyCraft Discord that shall be given access to the following:

(a) Licensed Journalists;

(b) The President’s Press Assistant or a member of the executive as determined by the President;

(c) The Congressional Press Assistant or a staff member of the Congress, as determined by the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate;

(d) A Clerk for the judiciary or a member of the judiciary, as determined by the Chief Justice.

(2) The purpose of the channel is to:

(a) Allow Licensed Journalists to ask questions;

(b) Allow the government to answer questions and give statements.

PART III — JOURNALIST LICENSING

5. Journalist License

(1) The Department of Education shall move the classification of a Journalist from a Trade to a License.

(2) The Department of Education is authorized to establish a methodology for accepting, approving, and rejecting Journalist Licenses with the following criteria:

(a) The applicant:

(i) demonstrates understanding of journalistic ethics and role-specific functions;

(ii) commits to fact-checking and source transparency.

(3) Unlicensed journalists may not be entitled to any benefits established in this act.

PART IV — JOURNALIST PAY

6. Journalist Payment Program

(1) The Department of Education shall establish a grant system paying Licensed Journalists for their work.

(a) Funds for grants will come out of the Department of Education appropriations approved by Congress.

(2) Payment may not be withheld for the applicant's tone of reporting or the views expressed in the work.

(3) Organizations that employ Licensed Journalists may submit work for payment on behalf of the Licensed Journalist.

 

[Kaiserin_]

Nay - The bill is well-intentioned, but essentially all of its provisions are either already in existence, or would be a detriment.

• A journalist-specific channel already exists in the Cabinet Discord.
• The non-retaliation provisions and requirements for answering within 7 days put a needless burden on the Executive that is bound to create issues.
• Journalist is already being moved to a license by the DOE, but the provisions here would not allow them to do a simple exam like they're planning.
• The DOE does not want to do journalist grants. In addition to the fact that the DOC already has a news and media grant, the provision of this grant by the DOE would cause potential budgeting issues and create new burden on an already overburdened department.

In general, my advice is to reach out to Departments involved in the provisions of a bill during the drafting stage, and allow the Executive to have a say in what Congress commands it to do.

 

[Talion77]

Before H-19/35:

 

[Angryhamdog]

NAY - While I support the pretense of this bill, I disagree with:
- Licenses (devalues the actual job of journalist and will just be a rubber stamp most people will have)
- A DC channel (This is what the cabinet discord could be used for. Press Secretary and President can coordinate from there).
- Having the DoE handle payment (DOC should handle it)

I support paying journalists, but as it stands I do not believe this bill will benefit the work of journalists. I would suggest to the entirety of my colleagues in congress to propose a bill regarding specifically access to grant payments for journalists, with decreased restrictions than the DOC currently places on their grants.