The NCAA and Bloggergate
The NCAA eased its restrictions on blogging and now says live updates from its events are permitted as long as they are limited to scores and time remaining, according to an Associated Press report Thursday.
The issue arose last week after a blogger for The Louisville Courier-Journal was ejected from an NCAA baseball tournament game for submitting live Internet updates during play.
Bennie Ivory, executive editor of The Courier-Journal, said the NCAA’s latest position was evidence that “they made a mistake ... It’s no clarification.
NCAA spokesman Bob Williams said blogger Brian Bennett was asked repeatedly not to blog play-by-play reports because it violated NCAA policy as a “live representation” of the game. Bennett provided in-game blog updates during Louisville’s super regional series against Oklahoma State that gave the score and a brief summary of game
action.
“Any reference to game action in a blog or other type of coverage could result in revocation of credentials,” the policy stated, according to a copy provided to The Associated Press.
In a statement released Wednesday, however, Williams said the NCAA had issued “incorrect information” that live updates of any kind were prohibited.
“In fact, in-game updates to include score and time remaining in competition are permissible by any media entity whether credentialed or not,” Williams said.
Jon Fleischaker, the paper’s lawyer, said the paper hasn’t made a decision about whether it will sue the NCAA or the University of Louisville.
In Thursday's edition of the Journal-Courier, Williams was quoted in a story saying that the NCAA has tried to clarify its position in saying reporters can file Internet reports as long as they don't include 'live play-by-play depictions," and the NCAA, upon further review, will adjust its position "if something needs to be adjusted, based on changes in technology."
The current June 25 issue of Sports Illustrated also addresses the story in a piece headlined: "Step Away from the Laptop!" Jeffrey Neuburger, who chairs the technology, media and communications department at the New York-based lawfirm Thelen Reid, Brown Raysman & Steiner, tells writer Chris Ballard that it's more of a copyright issue than First Amendment problem, but suggests that the NCAA "probably could take some advice from the record industry. They tried to deal with this through litigation and ultimately came to the conclusion that if you can't beat them, join them." Which is basically what the MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL, etc., have done already.
Meanwhile, a couple of guys named Andrew and Grant decided to launch a blog on the College World Series based on watching it from ESPN's coverage. Just because they could.