Paragliding Photojournalist Arrested Near Kansas Feedlot

You can smell it a mile away, but you can't take news photographs of it. We are talking about Kansas feedlots here.

Award-winning photojournalist George Steinmetz was arrested June 28, 2013, after flying a motorized paraglider over a feedlot in Finney County, Kansas, while on assignment for National Geographic magazine.

The event raises issues of newsgathering freedom, according to an attorney for the National Press Photographers Association. Feedlot owners have complained about threats to food security and privacy from "EPA drones," but many journalists are worried these are excuses to cover up pollution and inhumane conditions.

• "Paragliding Journalist Arrested After Photographing Kansas Feedlot," Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, July 15, 2013, by Jeff Zalesin.
• "Glen Ridge Photographer Working for National Geographic Arrested After Flying Over Kansas Feedlot," Associated Press, July 10, 2013.
• "Reining in the Rumor About EPA 'Drones'," Washington Post, June 16, 2012, by David Fahrenthold.
• "FBI Director Acknowledges Domestic Drone Use," CBS News, June 19, 2013, by Jake Miller.
• Previous Story: SEJ WatchDog of July 25, 2012.