Florida Channel nixes use of its video on candidate’s website

WFSU at Florida State University has demanded that its video of an Air Force commander discussing offshore drilling be removed from a state House candidate’s website. Democrat David Pleat thought the video explained the reasons he opposes oil drilling near the Gulf Coast, so he put a copy from Youtube.com on his campaign Web site, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News. The video “can be posted for educational purposes,” said Florida Channel Executive Director Beth Switzer. “We can’t, and are not allowed to, grant use in political advertisements or on websites.” Pleat’s site now carries a red X over the spot where the video once played. On a page linked to that spot, the website says the campaign feels WFSU’s request “is censorship of important information regarding oil drilling in the Gulf.” Pleat told the paper: “We simply put forward information that was taped in a public hearing with public dollars.”