Blogs Dashboard

It’s hard out here for a blogger.

Brian Bennett, a sports reporter at The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky, found out just how hard when he tried to send blog reports out of a college baseball game at the University of Louisville on Sunday and had his media credentials revoked by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The Courier-Journal wrote about it: “Gene McArtor, a representative of the NCAA baseball committee … told him that blogging from an NCAA championship event ‘is against NCAA policies. We’re revoking the credential and need to ask you to leave the stadium.’”

The paper’s executive editor, Bennie Ivory, said in the article that blogging is part of the way that newspapers are adjusting to modern times. But the C-J quoted the NCAA as saying that blogs are considered a “live representation of the game,” which puts them out of bounds.

The C-J also reported that Bennett knew the rules before he went to the game. Then he went ahead with the blog anyway.

Here’s what Bennett wrote on his blog: “About an hour before Friday’s first game, the NCAA sent U of L a memo and had it circulated through the press box. The memo said that no one would be allowed to blog during the games, which came as a pretty big surprise since I blogged throughout the Columbia Regional (and saw at least three other media representatives doing the same) and no one said a peep. Also, this restriction was not included on our credentials, and we never signed anything agreeing to this limitation.”

This doesn’t so much approach that most tired of debates — are they bloggers or are they journalists — as Bennett is clearly a reporter. But what about the NCAA’s rule? We’re waiting to hear back from the NCAA on the matter.

Is it OK to ban blogging in the interests of copyright? Tell us what you think.

Update: Here is the NCAA’s response, delivered in an e-mail: Reporters covering our championships may blog about the atmosphere, crowd and other details during a game but may not mention anything about game action. Any reference to game action in a blog or other type of coverage could result in revocation of credentials. This pertains to all NCAA championships. Live coverage is considered a protected right that has been granted to CBS as part of a bundled rights agreement. As part of that agreement, ESPN has shared exclusivity on internet rights for the 22 championships it broadcasts.