NFL Still Thinks It Can Tell News Organizations How They Can Report The News

from the that's-not-how-this-all-works dept

Back in July, we couldn't figure out how the NFL could get away with telling news organizations that they could only put 45 seconds of video online that had either game clips or videos of players. This made no sense. The NFL does not have any right to determine how reporters report the news. If they conduct their own interviews with players or film their own footage, they should be able to broadcast as much of it as they feel appropriate. They also shouldn't (as demanded by the NFL) have to link back to the NFL's official website. While these may be what the NFL wants, it has no way of actually enforcing this -- as news reporters don't need the NFL's permission to broadcast an interview they filmed with a player. However, it still seems like broadcasters aren't up to challenging the NFL on this bogus rule. Reader Jon writes in to let us know that the NFL (how kind of it) has exempted NBC, CBS, Fox and ESPN from these rules. However, the reasoning isn't that the NFL never had the right to demand such things of news organizations in the first place -- but that these TV networks have already paid fees to the NFL averaging more than $3 billion a year. Therefore, the NFL figures, they might as well post slightly more video online. Of course, this is still ridiculous. If any news organization wants to film their own interviews with players and broadcast them online, that's between the player being interviewed and the news organization. The NFL should have no say at all over what a news organization can or cannot post on their website. Any news organization going along with these restrictions should have its journalistic integrity questioned, since they're allowing the subjects of a story to dictate how they present the news.

Filed Under: control, fair use, news, nfl, reporting
Companies: nfl

FTC Asked To Stop Bogus Copyright Warnings In Sports Broadcasts

from the stop-the-copyright-abuse dept

You may recall earlier this year that law professor Wendy Seltzer received a DMCA takedown notice from the NFL for posting a short clip to YouTube of the part during the Super Bowl where the announcers state the famous warning that often reads something like "Any rebroadcast, reproduction or other use of the pictures, accounts or descriptions of this game without the express written consent of Big Sports League, is prohibited." What got lost in the Seltzer story over whether or not posting that particular clip to YouTube was legal, was that her point in using it was to show how sports leagues were making claims to rights that copyright didn't actually give them. It appears that enough others have noticed this as well that a trade group, backed by various big name tech companies, is now asking the Federal Trade Commission to prevent broadcasters from making such "deceptive" copyright statements. The group is claiming that this incorrect statement that clearly reaches beyond the rights copyright provides, is harmful to consumers and technology companies. Of course, in the sports leagues' (and other content companies') defense, it appears that plenty of people ignore the bogus copyright warning anyway.

Filed Under: broadcast, copyright, copyright abuse, mlb, nfl
Companies: mlb, nfl

NFL Pushing Boundaries Of Ridiculous: Demands Photo Journalists Advertise Sponsors At Games

from the they're-just-seeing-how-far-they-can-push-it,-right? dept

The NFL really seems to be seeing just how far it can push journalists around these days. First it told them they couldn't videotape any part of the game themselves and had to use officially provided video. Then it told them that there was a limit to how much video any publication could show on its website, even if that video was filmed entirely by the publication itself. Apparently it's now moving on to abusing photojournalists as well. The NFL is now requiring all sideline photographers to wear vests advertising NFL sponsors. It seems the NFL considers the very journalists who help promote the sport as mere billboards and mouthpieces of its sponsors. Next up, perhaps it'll start requiring fans to wear advertising vests as well.

Filed Under: integrity, journalism, nfl, sponsors
Companies: nfl