MISSOURI — Ten media organizations sent a letter to the National Collegiate Athletic Association last week expressing its frustration with the athletic group’s unwillingness to discuss journalists’ concerns about credentialing and other issues.
“The undersigned organizations are writing to express our profound disappointment with the NCAA’s recent actions affecting journalists’ ability to cover your member institutions’ activities,” reads the letter, which was signed by representatives from the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Student Press Law Center, among others.
“In short, our concerns and frustrations are mounting, with a long period of unproductive interaction leading to this follow up letter.”
Restrictions placed on media credentials is the main concern raised in the letter, a situation that has become more onerous in recent years, said Kevin Goldberg, an attorney who represents ASNE.
The letter cites instances where reporters have been faced with “unduly restrictive credentialing conditions” with regard to social media use and other coverage efforts. Some reporters have been told they may lose their credential if they post more than 20 updates on social media during live coverage of a game, Goldberg said.
“We’re getting caught in the middle of this back-and-forth and trying cut through all of that to get to what really matters, which is a working relationship independent press, member institutions and the NCAA,” Goldberg said.
This isn’t the first time that news organizations have had issues with sports associations, Goldberg said. Typically in the past, the two sides have been able to come to agreements quickly.
“These aren’t new issues,” Goldberg said. “Every three or so years, we get a flare up. We’ve had pretty good success with sending letters and talking it out. We’ve been able to peacefully co-exist so everyone can get the job done. “
Goldberg stressed that it’s important for this conversation to happen because the significance extends past just sports.
“It’s hard to find a town that doesn’t have a connection with a college or university,” Goldberg said. “Whether it’s student press or mainstream media, [covering that] is a big deal. That’s why we consider this a news issue, not a sports issue. If you look at Penn State, that’s definitely a news issue.”
By Christina Downs, SPLC staff writer. Contact Downs by email or at (703) 807-1904 ext. 126.