Illinois House members side with newspapers in photo battle
SPRINGFIELD - Newspapers would be free to take and sell as many pictures as they want of high school athletes at state championships under a proposed law an Illinois House committee approved Wednesday.
"What we do with our products is our business," said Dave Bennett, Illinois Press Association executive director.
The proposal is in response to the Illinois High School Association banning photographers from sidelines at championship tournaments unless they and the media outlets they work for agree not to sell pictures.
Numerous papers offer extra pictures from state competitions for sale to parents or anyone else. The IHSA claims the tournaments and images are its product and it retains the rights to them, in the same way colleges and the NCAA do at their events. Plus, the association - which is not a state agency - has its own exclusive photo contract.
The clash climaxed with the recent state football championships when some photographers were relegated to the stands or press box for refusing to agree with IHSA terms.
Legal action ensued, as did proposed legislation barring the IHSA from continuing this policy or in any way regulating what papers do with pictures.
The IHSA has relaxed the policy for subsequent state championships.
But the legislation pushed by the Illinois Press Association, of which the Daily Herald is a member, is picking up opposition.
Most notably, the University of Illinois officially came out against the proposal Wednesday.
"We agree with the IHSA that this is a licensing issue. That it's not just about access," said university spokesman Tom Hardy.
The university has similar policies prohibiting unauthorized use or resale of pictures from sporting events. The news media has agreed to these restrictions for years in order to get credentials to cover Fighting Illini games.
Additionally, the Illinois Statewide School Management Alliance opposes the legislation, saying the law could hurt the IHSA's bottom line and result in the association charging membership dues and not assisting with travel costs to state championships, both of which could mean higher costs for student athletes and their parents.
Marty Hickman, the IHSA's executive director, said the association has a $6 million annual budget, of which none comes from local school property taxes. He said all funding is derived from ticket sales and corporate sponsorships.
A Senate proposal outlawing the IHSA photo policy already won initial approval and the House did the same with an identical plan Wednesday, though some members questioned why a compromise could not be reached between the newspaper industry and the IHSA.
"Great example to our youth on how to get along," quipped Republican state Rep. Dan Brady of Bloomington, who voted against the legislation.
However, it was approved 9-2 and now goes to the full House for consideration.