IHSA photo limits unfair to fans, media

Saturday was a championship day for teams from Geneva, Barrington and Naperville's Neuqua Valley high schools. And parents of the high school athletes who were looking for photos of their children could go to Sunday's Daily Herald sports pages for some of them. But those pages can hold only a few photos. To see more, newspapers, including this one, routinely put scores of photos on their Web sites.

So, for example, in boys cross country, where Neuqua's Chris Derrick ran faster than any person in 35 years at Detweiler Park in Peoria, the traditional newspaper rightfully carries a picture of the senior phenom. If your son was among the other elite runners on Saturday, chances are a picture of him might be found online rather than in print.

But the Illinois High School Association wants to limit photos at state tournaments to only those in the traditional newspaper. Knowing how important high school coverage is to our readers, we think that's wrong. So does the Illinois Press Association, of which we are a member, and of which our CEO is a member of the board of directors. The IPA is suing the IHSA to overturn the policy that seeks to limit newspapers' access to sporting events and the use of photos taken at those events. A hearing on the lawsuit filed is today in Springfield.

"We have voiced our opposition to the IHSA, but they declined to accommodate the press in a free and fair manner. We can no longer sit on the bench on this," said David L. Bennett, executive director of the IPA, in a prepared release. The IHSA had no comment other than to say it was disappointed a lawsuit was filed.

The lawsuit says the IHSA has contracted with a private company to take photographs and has given that company unlimited access at IHSA events while limiting access to the media.

"Allowing a private party to have unfettered access while limiting the press is another example of prior restraint," the lawsuit claims.

We think the IHSA has overreached here in trying to control coverage. One publisher has been quoted as saying that the IHSA believes it "owns the postseason" and says the IHSA has compared the situation to professional sports, which puts a whole host of limits on coverage.

"The key word there is professional," said Sue Schmitt, publisher of The State Journal-Register in Springfield, which has joined the IPA in filing the suit. Quoted in her own newspaper, Schmitt said: "The high school sports we cover, to me, is something we do for the community and definitely not something we do as a financial windfall for us."

Schmitt speaks for publishers and editors all over Illinois, who recognize that high school athletics are all about the players and the coaches and fans and the community spirit that these championships can foster. If the local media are willing to make it a priority to cover these moments, the IHSA should be making it easier for them to do that important work, not more difficult to do so. We encourage the courts to rule in the IPA's favor and strongly urge the IHSA to work with news organizations rather than try to compete with them and fight them.