High school sports newspaper photo dispute resolved
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">Newspapers will be able to take photographs of high school sporting events and sell the images under an agreement reached with the Illinois High School Association.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">The pact between the IHSA and the Illinois Press Association gives newspaper photographers full access to sporting events and does not restrict what they do with the photos.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">As part of the deal, the IPA agreed to drop a lawsuit against the IHSA and no longer pursue legislation in the General Assembly to bar the IHSA from granting a private company the sole right to sell photos taken at championship high school sporting events.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">"We have always welcomed and encouraged press coverage of our events," said IHSA executive director Martin Hickman in a written statement. "This agreement is a balance between the interests of newspapers and the IHSA's responsibility to manage high school sporting events effectively."
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">"It's over. They can't control how we do business. End of story," said IPA executive director Dave Bennett in a statement.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">The State Journal-Register joined the IPA lawsuit.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">"We're pleased that the IHSA has seen fit to make sure that the press has unfettered access to the events it sanctions," said Jon Broadbooks, executive editor of The State Journal-Register. "Our contention from the beginning was that we have a First Amendment right to provide readers with the best possible coverage of high school athletics, and this agreement ensures we have the framework to do that."
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">Last fall, the IHSA prohibited photographers from several newspapers from taking pictures on the field during the state high school football championships. The organization required papers that wanted media passes to the field to sign an agreement preventing them from selling pictures taken at the event.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">The IHSA has a licensing agreement with a Wisconsin company to be its official photographer. The company has the exclusive right to sell photographs taken at state championship events. The IHSA said newspapers violated the organization's rules by selling photographs they took at championship events.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">News organizations argued that the IHSA cannot restrict the use of photographs taken at public events.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">Under the agreement reached between the IHSA and IPA, newspapers can use and resell images as they see fit, and photographers will have full access to IHSA events unless safety or space considerations cause restrictions.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">The IHSA can still issue credentials to photographers, but cannot use that process to limit where photographers work, except for safety concerns.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">Doug Finke can be reached at (217) 788-1527.