The question of whether news that's disseminated in a live blog constitutes an infringement of copyright is at the heart of what could potentially be a far-reaching dispute between a Kentucky newspaper and the NCAA.
The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal was considering its legal options one day after a staff writer was banished from an NCAA baseball tournament game for transmitting live updates during the course of play.
Courier-Journal writer Brian Bennett was blogging live from Sunday's rubber game of the Louisville-Oklahoma State super regional series when in the bottom of the fifth inning, he was told to stop by an NCAA official who said he was violating NCAA policy, The Associated Press reported. Bennett was then asked to leave the game and his press credential revoked.
Bennett had done live blogging during the previous two games of the three-game series, according to the AP, even though University of Louisville officials had circulated a memo from the NCAA before Friday's opener that said blogs are considered a "live representation of the game" and are prohibited until the game is over.
An NCAA spokesman said Bennett was asked "repeatedly" not to blog before Sunday's tilt, won by Louisville 20-2. But after consulting with his editors, Bennett continued to report on the action until he was removed.
"Any reference to game action in a blog or other type of coverage could result in revocation of credentials," the policy said, according to a copy provided to the AP.
"It's clearly a First Amendment issue," Courier-Journal executive editor Bennie Ivory told the AP. "This is part of the evolution of how we present the news to our readers. ... It's what we do."
Added the newspaper's lawyer, Jon L. Fleischaker, "It's a real question that we're being deprived of our right to report within the First Amendment from a public facility. Once a player hits a home run, that's a fact. It's on TV. Everybody sees it. [The NCAA] can't copyright that fact."
Fleischaker said the newspaper was contemplating its next move. We'll keep an eye out.
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