By Stephanie Ramirez
A newspaper, whose sports writer was ejected from a College World Series game for reporting on the game on the paper’s blog, is considering legal action against the NCAA for allegedly violating the First Amendment, or its rights to free speech.
Brian Bennett of The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky. was covering the Oklahoma State-Louisville game when the NCAA took its action.
The NCAA’s decision has sparked an outcry in some corners, including from some journalism professors, who teach media law and have monitored the evolution of blogging.
Robert Jenson, who teaches Media Law and Ethics at the University of Texas at Austin, questioned whether the plaintiff’s argument that the game took place in a public facility and thus was open to blogging could carry the day. “Private groups rent public facilities all the time, but that doesn’t make them an arm of the government,” he said. Therefore, based on this circumstance, he added, the NCAA does seem to have the law on its side in this issue.
“The thing is, sporting venues have the right to limit access when they sell tickets to their private events,” said Wanda Cash, a journalism professor at UT. “These entertainment venues sell licensing agreements to certain TV, radio or even movie companies, making it illegal for bloggers to be giving out play-by-plays simultaneously.
“We all have to live by the rules that commercial venues put down on us. When we go to a concert, we have rules about whether or not we can take photographs. The private venue controls access. Bloggers need to understand that they too must follow those rules.”
While both Jenson and Cash agreed that the NCAA could not be successfully sued under the First Amendment, Cash offered further insight as to what the future of journalism could look like.
“We are headed in to some uncharted territory with this new form of journalism,” Cash said. “Blogging may be new, but it’s here to stay. The FCC, sporting venues and entertainment venues are all going to have to determine how to deal with this.
“As long as a blogger isn’t violating a licensing agreement by writing play-by-play coverage, they should not encounter legal repercussions. Anybody could be sitting in the stands and call their friend, who couldn’t make it and say, ‘You just missed that awesome fly ball!’ or something similar.”
In this new era of journalism, some experts anticipate additional litigation concerning blogging, impacting how future contests are reported.
Blogging is gaining credence as a form of journalism, especially when the blogs are written by a journalist. As long as blogs are revealing a journalist’s opinion, and not violating any contract between a venue and other company, associations like the NCAA can be expected to tweak what they allow to go on at their events. Whether or not the Courier-Journal proceeds with litigation against the NCAA, one thing is for sure: this case could set a future precedent for the entire sporting and entertainment industry and what bloggers will be allowed to cover.
The NCAA Speaks
The NCAA recently clarified its position with the following:
“Coverage of a recent incident involving a reporter having his media credential revoked at an NCAA championship requires clarification on both why this action was taken as well as current NCAA policy. The reporter’s credential was revoked because he continued to blog live play-by-play reports from the press box after being repeatedly asked to stop. Any transmission of live play-by-play information by any entity other than a media rights holder is prohibited.
“Following this incident, the NCAA issued incorrect information to credentialed media which stated that in-game updates of any type are prohibited. In fact, in-game updates to include score and time remaining in competition are permissible by any media entity whether credentialed or not.”
