IPA Executive Director Dave Bennett offers the following points to help put the IPA’s position into perspective:
•The IHSA is a state actor. Unlike NASCAR, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, etc., most of the IHSA’s membership is made up of public high schools using tax dollars. Therefore, the IHSA cannot grant exclusive access to public sporting events for newsgathering purposes.
• There is no difference between text and photos in terms of newsgathering. The courts and Webster’s dictionary support the fact that photos are as much a part of the news as is text.
• The IHSA claims it receives no compensation from Visual Image Photography. Yet, it admits that VIP gives the IHSA free photos and video, which are forms of compensation. In other states where VIP has held contracts with state high school associations, other types of contributions, such as scholarships, have taken place, suggesting a quid pro quo between organizations.
•The amount of money generated by photos is very small for newspapers but potentially very large for a single, commercial photographer. Limiting the sale of news photos increases demand and profitability for the commercial photographer. While the IHSA has claimed that newspapers are trying to profit from school children, it is the IHSA that seeks to increase the profitability of sports photo for its own benefit.
• Newspapers have never sold photos because of any perceived profitability. The costs of sports coverage far outweighs any offsetting income derived from the sale of photos.
• The IHSA has a history of seeking profit from newspapers. One newspaper reported that it donates programs to its schools but must pay the IHSA $500 annually for the privilege. If it sells advertising on the programs, the IHSA demands a 5 percent commission.
• Newspapers have been the single biggest promoters of school sports for the past century. As such, they have developed a market for sports photos that the IHSA now wishes to claim for itself.
•Where is the public good in what the IHSA seeks? There are more than 600 newspapers in Illinois, and only one official photographer for the IHSA. Limiting the sale of news photos limits the selection of photos for these student athletes and their families.
• The sale of a single photo to an individual is no less a part of the news process than selling a newspaper to an individual. Technology has dramatically changed the way that newspapers do business, and the relationships that newspapers have with readers is much more personal and individualized today.
• It is well established that the rights of a photo belong to the photographer or the company that employs him. The IHSA seeks to control something that it doesn’t own.
•The IPA made a good-faith effort to negotiate with the IHSA. We withdrew our court motion and promised to consider their proposal at our December meeting. It was more important to them to try to dominate the issue than it was to work amicably. |
