Georgia lawmakers consider bill that takes aim at the state’s journalists

In a move slammed by proponents of press freedom, Georgia politicians are considering a law that would create a journalism board to oversee the work of journalists in the state.

The move, introduced by the Republican state legislator Andrew Welch just before he resigned his seat, has generated widespread outrage, though it fits into a pattern of attacks on the media by Republican figures, including Donald Trump.

Some of the suggestions in House Bill 734, the “Ethics in Journalism Act”, include recruiting and appointing nine members from media outlets to oversee their fellow journalists to “issue formal advisory opinions” and conduct investigations of complaints – though how complaints are to be submitted and who would be able to submit complaints are not clarified. (Read more here…)