The RTDNA started the new year by saying police radio encryption is its biggest issue in 2023.
The news organization said police departments across the country are encrypting their radio scanner communications with an increased and frightening urgency. And although encryption is not a new issue, it is rapidly accelerating.
The group says it does not want to jeopardize officer safety, but encryption harms government transparency and impedes the public’s access to updates about violent crime, hazardous conditions, and more.
Shop Talk is a weekly panel discussion about journalism issues. This week’s program featured Will Buss, who teaches in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University and advises the student editors at the Western Courier and the students at student radio station The Dog: Jessica Martin, who teaches in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University and is news director of NEWS3-TV at WIU; and TSPR News Director Rich Egger.
