NCAA Forbids Blogging During Baseball

Posted on June 11, 2007

The Associated Press is reporting that a journalist from the The Courier-Journal was booted out of the press box at an NCAA baseball game for blogging about the game. The NCAA policy is that there is to be no blogging about NCAA baseball games during the game.

NCAA spokesman Bob Williams said Monday that Bennett was asked not to blog about game action before Sunday's game.
"In a nutshell, we asked the blogger repeatedly not to cover it in that manner, because it violates the policy, and he continued, and his credential was revoked," Williams said.
Williams said it didn't matter that the newspaper had blogged at other NCAA events, like the Orange Bowl and NCAA basketball tournament.
"Essentially, we enforce the policy when we learn of violations," Williams said. "So the fact that he may have blogged at a championship before really has no effect on the policy."
The newspaper said the university circulated a memo on the issue from Jeramy Michiaels, the NCAA's manager of broadcasting, before the first super regional game Friday. It said blogs are considered a "live representation of the game" and blogs containing action photos or game reports are prohibited until the game is over.

TThe newspaper's lawyer, Jon L. Fleischaker, said the right to report during the game is a First Amendment issue.

"It's a real question that we're being deprived of our right to report within the First Amendment from a public facility," Fleischaker said. "Once a player hits a home run, that's a fact. It's on TV. Everybody sees it. [The NCAA] can't copyright that fact."

What's the purpose of preventing live blogging of NCAA baseball games exactly? Do they really think it will somehow limit the turnout?

Jason Lee Miller at WebProNews has a nice headline for this story: There's No Live Blogging In Baseball. Editor and Publisher also has an article. Baseball Musings says, "Let Them Blog!" Deadspin has a roundup of some more coverage about the NCAA's anti-blogging policy.