Even Journalism Students Are Learning to Fly Drones in This CountryMelissa Melton As civilian drone use becomes more widespread and normalized, journalism students at the University of Missouri spent part of their spring semester this year learning how to pilot drones. Why, you might ask? Well, sending drones into potentially dangerous combat or disaster situations will reportedly keep journalists from risking their lives to cover breaking news stories in the future. So no more on-the-ground accounts? Can you imagine the propaganda that will ensue? Drones are quickly proliferating throughout every aspect of our culture. Defense contractor jobs are a hot commodity these days in America, and many colleges and universities across the country are instituting UAV programs to meet demand. Approximately 30,000 drones are set to fill American skies by 2020; under the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, The planshall provide for the safe integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system as soon as practicable, but not later than September 30, 2015. Its easy to see whats driving this phenomenon. The starting salary for a drone pilot is in the $50,000 to $60,000 range. Should a 22-year-old graduate sign up with a government agency or defense contractor to work overseas, that salary can jump as high as $160,000. Even the U.S. Congress has a Congressional Unmanned Systems Caucus whose mission is to to educate members of Congress and the public on the strategic, tactical, and scientific value of unmanned systems; actively support further development and acquisition of more systems, and to more effectively engage the civilian aviation community on unmanned system use and safety. Members of the caucus have received $8 million dollars in drone-related special interest campaign contributions to date. While many states are passing laws to regulate the use of domestic drones, the American Civil Liberties Union has noted a plethora of concerns when it comes to filling our skies with them. Many domestic drones are equipped with spy gear and have even been equipped with less lethal weapons, the full ramifications of which are yet to be seen: Rules must be put in place to ensure that we can enjoy the benefits of this new technology without bringing us closer to a surveillance society in which our every move is monitored, tracked, recorded, and scrutinized by the government. Drone manufacturers are also considering offering police the option of arming these remote-controlled aircraft with (nonlethal for now) weapons like rubber bullets, Tasers, and tear gas. Just as lethal Predator drones limit a soldiers intimacy with acts of killing and war, journalism students who send drones to cover stories in their stead will only see the world through the same distant lens as their audience. They wont actually be there to experience first-hand to actually witness and contextualize the true meaning of what they are reporting. In other words, removing the journalist from the journalism in on-the-ground situations would be like everyone merely reporting on what they watched on TV today (or heard through second- or third-hand accounts). Stories reality will be much more controllable. Ultimately, all this technological disconnection is a slippery slope that slides us further into apathy a fake world, or Matrix society. What is being learned today in this budding big brother police state will surely be practiced tomorrow. In other news, China is stepping up its drone deployment Melissa Melton is a writer, researcher, and analyst for The Daily Sheeplewhere this first appeared,and a co-creator of Truthstream Media. Wake the flock up! 