U.S. Department of Justice Suspends Warrantless Airport Search Program After InvestigateTV Reporting
09 Janvier 2025 - 4:14PM
Gray Media (NYSE: GTN) today announced that following an
investigation by Gray’s InvestigateTV and Atlanta News First
Investigates, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) ended a
nationwide search program that seized untold millions in cash from
airline passengers without arrests.
This unprecedented action by the DOJ is the result of the
award-winning investigation, In Plane Sight which
originally aired in September 2023 and led to multiple follow up
reports through December 2024. The DOJ ordered the Drug
Enforcement Administration to stop searching innocent passengers at
departure gates as a direct result of a video recorded by a
traveler who saw the investigation and followed the legal advice
reported in the series.
InvestigateTV is Gray’s national investigative team that
produces original reporting for InvestigateTV+, a 30-minute daily
program cleared in 46% of the U.S. A weekend edition of
the show, InvestigateTV+ Weekend, is cleared in 67% of the U.S.
“Our mission at InvestigateTV is to uncover not only real
problems, but real solutions,” said Gray’s Senior Vice President of
News Strategy and Innovation Lee Zurik. “This is a
prime example of how we collaborate with investigative teams at
Gray stations across the country to uncover issues that affect
every viewer and create significant change.”
In Plane Sight originated with Atlanta News First Investigates,
the investigative unit at Gray affiliate WANF. The
undercover investigation evolved into a multi-part series that
tracked the activity of plainclothes agents at airports across the
U.S. Now that activity is suspended nationwide.
“Results like these are why investigative journalism is a
critical part of our culture,” said InvestigateTV and Atlanta News
First Chief Investigator Brendan Keefe. “Gray invests
in and empowers our teams to produce original, impactful content
with real world results.”
The investigation also spurred action from Congress.
Georgia U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff sent a letter to the U.S.
Department of Justice, asking why the Drug Enforcement
Administration was searching innocent passengers at boarding gates
at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. He
credited In Plane Sight with uncovering an important issue for
flyers.
“I'm not sure that this change, this investigation, and this
halt to potentially very problematic DEA practices would have
occurred without your reporting. You have been on this
story, helping to expose what appear to be potentially serious
civil rights violations,” said Senator Ossof.
About Gray Media:
Gray Media, or Gray, is a multimedia company headquartered in
Atlanta, Georgia, formerly known as Gray Television, Inc. The
company is the nation’s largest owner of top-rated local television
stations and digital assets serving 113 television markets that
collectively reach approximately 36 percent of US television
households. The portfolio includes 77 markets with the top-rated
television station and 100 markets with the first and/or second
highest rated television station, as well as the largest Telemundo
Affiliate group with 43 markets totaling nearly 1.5 million
Hispanic TV Households. The company also owns Gray Digital
Media, a full-service digital agency offering national and local
clients digital marketing strategies with the most advanced digital
products and services. Gray’s additional media properties
include video production companies Raycom Sports, Tupelo Media
Group, and PowerNation Studios, and studio production facilities
Assembly Atlanta and Third Rail Studios. Gray owns a majority
interest in Swirl Films. For more information, please visit
www.graymedia.com.
Gray Contact:
Sandy Breland, Executive Vice President, Chief
Operating Officer, 404-266-8333
Gray Media (NYSE:GTN)
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Gray Media (NYSE:GTN)
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