CNN's drone journalism program got a boost from the Federal Aviation Administration this week when the FAA agreed to enter into a cooperative research and development agreement with the cable news network.
"Our aim is to get beyond hobby-grade equipment and to establish what options are available and workable to produce high quality video journalism using various types of UAVs and camera setups," CNN Senior Vice President David Vigilante
said on the company's blog.
"Our hope is that these efforts contribute to the development of a vibrant ecosystem where operators of various types and sizes can safely operate in the US airspace."
CNN has been exploring drone journalism since last summer, when it entered into a partnership with the Georgia Tech Research Institute.
The new contract with the FAA will see coordination between all three organizations, with drone data sharing being a primary component.
"Unmanned aircraft offer news organizations significant opportunities," said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. "We hope this agreement with CNN and the work we are doing with other news organizations and associations will help safely integrate unmanned newsgathering technology and operating procedures into the National Airspace System."
News agencies have been chomping at the bit to use drones, and some have even used them to cover large-scale disasters, however the FAA has put a moratorium on drone use across a number of sectors until the rules of the skyways are established through pilot programs like these.
Gizmodo reports that many large corporations like Google and Amazon have, in addition to working with the FAA, begun testing drones overseas — where the rules are looser.