South Carolina Rep. Mike Pitts, R-Laurens, filed a bill Tuesday to establish a “responsible journalism registry” to be operated by the S.C. secretary of state.
That bill’s summary says the bill would “establish requirements for persons before working as a journalist for a media outlet and for media outlets before hiring a journalist.”
The summary also includes registration fees, and sets fines and criminal penalties for violations. A person seeking to register with the state as a journalist would have to submit a criminal record background check and “an affidavit from the media outlet attesting to the applicant’s journalistic competence.” Continue…
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