REPORTERS RECEIVE “UNINHIBITED” ACCESS TO DISASTER

After a chorus of complaints by print and broadcast journalists about being denied access to areas of the Gulf affected by the British Petroleum oil spill and talking to workers assigned to the clean-up, Admiral Thad Allen, who is overseeing the operations, says he has issued a direct order giving the press “uninhibited access.” Allen made is remarks on ABC’s This Week Sunday when correspondent Jake Tapper said that he “experienced stony silence from government workers and private contractors working for BP who were told not to talk about the work they are doing.” Allen replied, “I put out a written directive and I can provide it for the record that says the media will have uninhibited access anywhere we’re doing operations, except for two things, if it’s a security or safety problem. That is my policy. I’m the national incident commander.” Tapper shot back: “Well, I can tell you firsthand people are not — people are not following that.” Allen said that if Tapper provided details of his treatment, “we’ll get the word to them.”