CA’s stance may force media boycott of Sydney Test

Global news agencies said today they may be forced to cancel coverage of the first Australia-Sri Lanka cricket Test...

Global news agencies said today they may be forced to cancel coverage of the first Australia-Sri Lanka cricket Test after organisers imposed unprecedented restrictions on the media.

They said Cricket Australia’s demand that they surrender all intellectual property rights to their photo coverage of the game raised grave concerns about press freedom, leaving them unable to report on the Test.

The row means the main agencies—Agence France Presse, Reuters and Associated Press—cannot cover the Test beginning in Brisbane on Thursday, restricting the ability of cricket fans around the world to follow the match.

The agencies are part of a coalition of more than 30 media organisations — including Getty Images, Australia’s News Limited, Fairfax Media and Australian Associated Press — set up to oppose CA’s stance. CA has insisted it holds the intellectual property rights to agency photographs taken at its venues, and that those photos cannot be re-sold without its permission.

In still-continuing negotiations with CA, the agencies have refused to hand over rights to the photos, saying it would set a dangerous precedent. They say they will not be able to cover the Test series unless the issue is resolved.

The agencies have rejected a compromise offer from CA under which they would pay a licensing fee for the sale of photographs, saying that would run counter to the fundamental principles of news coverage. “AFP will not pay to report news,” AFP chairman Pierre Louette said. “The accreditation terms imposed by CA are making it impossible for news agencies to achieve the impartial and independent coverage that is our mission.