Louisville Courier-Journal v. NCAA

Messr. Red, it was handed out in the envelope with the credential. Easy to miss, because it wasn't exactly done prominently.

 

Good luck in the fight. A lot of people will be watching and rooting for you.

 

Ahh.... I know exactly what you're talking about, and I didn't take a second look at it.
That said, this policy is absurd. It's not as if blogs are infringing upon the rights of the GameTracker, which is often painfully slow and wrong.
The GameTracker and NCAA blogs don't give the reader any color. It's just sanitized play-by-play.
My blog isn't as trafficked as some, but I'll be among any fight to take on the NCAA on this. It's wrong.

 

I'd expect Gannett to go balls to the wall on this. With its push toward digital and a chance to assert itself as a First Amendment champion, it could be vital to its future if additional organizations ban live blogging. TV networks banning live blogging of shows, Stockholders meetings, even high school sports.
What's alarming is that I'm not sure how much the First Amendment will play in this, given the current Supreme Court's current make-up. Would it make a difference if the NCAA/ESPN allowed local papers to link to the "official" blog of NCAA/ESPN?

 

I'll bet the "official" blog of NCAA/ESPN would suck.

 

Putting aside for the moment how idiotic it is for the NCAA to throw away an opportunity for coverage, what right does the media have to demand access to an event?

I don't think you can argue the first amendment when you're talking about an even run by a private entity with an admission charge. Essentially, all of us are in the press box at the pleasure of the teams/leagues. We get special seats and special access and (occasionally) free food. But if a pigheaded organization wants to keep us out, they should logically have that right. It's their event and they don't have to provide special access. It would be similar to a movie that opens without preview screenings to avoid a bad review running right next to their big paid ad.

(Of course, organizations like the BBWAA have negotiated special access, but there's no way it would have nearly as much power if formed today when teams can promote themselves pretty well.)

 

Anybody know of any sports venues that have rules on fans bringing in laptops, video cameras or digital cameras that can shoot video? I know rock concerts are pretty hardcore about not allowing recording equipment.

 

And now, the ESPN.com story -- via the AP, but it is one of the top stories of the day at the moment since it is in their headlines box: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2901003

 

What right does the media have to cover events?

Well, let's go back to an antiquated idea -- that these are educational institutions we're talking about, quite often public educational institutions at that.

The NCAA loves to bemoan the commercialism that is enveloping its sports on the one hand, while feverishly seeking commercial revenue on the other.

At any rate, in the state of Kentucky, the University of Louisville can't have so much as a board meeting without allowing the media to be present, unless they're meeting in very well-defined executive sessions. As an event held in a facility that was built with government bonding (paid for completely by university fund-raising, but built with state bonding as a building at a state institution), in an event that is open to the public, I think media institutions have every right to be there and cover anything that happens.

We can't barge into classrooms. We can't disrupt university business with our presence. But the public has a right to know what is going on with these athletic teams which -- in all but about 20 or so schools in the country -- it is helping to support financially with public funds.

I'm no attorney. I'm sure there's a distinction between a sports event and other events on campus, but it's a legal can of worms that I don't think the NCAA wants to open, mainly because it wouldn't be too difficult to amend state law to include athletic contests among other university functions to which media outlets must be admitted should they wish to be present.

 

Seems to me if the NCAA wants to eliminate in-game reporting that takes the form of a blog, it must also prevent live radio reports during ESPN radio's SportsCenter updates. Anybody know if such reports are permitted during the basketball tournament?

 

They probably have contractual set-ups for ESPN. But wait...what about AP midgame alerts?

 

What he said. Even though I've actually had some good dealings with NCAA people, hard to feel any sympathy for an organization so greedy that it removes the free wireless from venues and converts it to pay, just so Myles Brand can line his pockets some more.

I guess Bobby Knight was right about him, after all.