In the News

Vernon Hills Review, April 8, 2008

A months-long dispute between the Illinois Press Association and the Illinois High School Association over the use of photographs and videos taken at sporting events has been settled.

Once partners in high school sports, the IHSA and the IPA found themselves in recent months as adversaries in circuit court -- and then in the General Assembly.

But the new plan, submitted in Sagamon County circuit court, allows Pioneer Press and other credentialed newspapers to document IHSA-sponsored events and use those images or video without regulation, much as they have in the past.

The fight started last year when the IHSA contracted with Visual Image Photography Inc. of Wisconsin for exclusive access to IHSA tournaments for photo opportunities. That agreement allowed newspapers to sell only the published pictures from all IHSA events.

Illinois newspapers, including Pioneer Press, have long made photos not published in the paper available for purchase to the public.

Legal action was pursued, and ultimately the IPA drafted legislation late last year after the IHSA refused to allow field access to five newspapers during the state high school football championships. Those newspapers refused to agree not to make their photos available for sale. Newspapers also were banned from floor access during wrestling and cheerleading tournaments.

Last week, the Illinois Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill that forbid elementary and secondary schools, as well as organizations that organize competitive events for them, from regulating the dissemination of news from those events.

The Illinois House was in the midst of considering a similar bill and was expected to be approved.

Throughout the dispute, the IPA simply sought a plan that allowed newspapers to operate as they always have, said Dave Bennett, executive director of the Illinois Press Association.

The attempted restrictions by the IHSA "creates a monopoly and I think that's what makes it unfair," said state Sen. Susan Garrett, D-29th, of Lake Forest, a co-sponsor of the senate bill. One single entity should not have the control of high school athletic photographs, she said.

Garrett, speaking before the news of the settlement, said the bill showed strong support for freedom of the press.

Among their concerns, IHSA officials warned school officials that if passed, the bill could end a tradition of providing live television coverage of March Madness and the IHSA Boys Football championship games because it would be unable to regulate the use of photos or other visual images.