No progress in RWC media row
2007-09-07 14:53
Paris - A major row threatening coverage of the Rugby World Cup by leading international media groups remained unresolved on Friday with only hours left to the tournament's opening game.
The 40-strong news media coalition in dispute with the tournament organisers said it was still awaiting a new approach from the International Rugby Board (IRB) to end the unprecedented suspension of coverage.
The row, triggered by a push to commercialise rugby and improve its financial standing, threatens the sport's ambition of extending its global reach through prestigious events like the six-week World Cup.
Reuters, Agence France-Presse (AFP), Associated Press, Getty and the European Pressphoto Agency on Friday continued their suspension of all text, photographic and TV cover. Most British newspapers did not carry tournament-related pictures.
French sports daily L'Equipe, which has a circulation of about 400 000, joined the boycott on Friday, although they continue their text coverage of the event.
"L'Equipe has decided to join the boycott in order to show solidarity with the international agencies," Michel Dalloni, head of the paper's newsroom, told Reuters TV in an interview.
"The freedom of information and of access to information is an imprescriptible right.
"We have told our readers that they would not find, like every day, the most recent, the most relevant pictures on the Rugby World Cup," Dalloni added.
The tournament kicks off at 21:00 SA time when hosts France take on Argentina at the Stade de France.
But, with no sign of movement from the IRB or Rugby World Cup Ltd and with many journalists and photographers still unaccredited, coverage remained under serious threat.
"The political and sponsor communities have expressed their understandable desire for this matter to be resolved for the sake of the rugby-loving fans and we share in their sentiment," the media coalition said in an overnight statement.
"It is more than two days since the news media organisations put forward a possible peace plan - but the IRB has yet to formally respond or to set up a meeting. We do not believe it is in the best interest of the game of rugby for the IRB to drag its feet any longer," it said.
The main areas of concern for media groups remain restrictions on news Web site picture content during games and daily non-game video footage.
News agencies say they can not cover the event until the IRB removes a disclaimer enabling it to change the terms and conditions of accreditation at any time without consultation.
The IRB fears that the use of too many pictures on a website could constitute video-streaming, a threat to live TV coverage supplied by companies who have paid to be rights holders, a concern addressed by the coalition statement.
"The Media Coalition does not want to impinge on the rights of TV broadcasters and we have made that plain to the IRB. The coalition simply rejects in principle the idea that any event organiser should be able to limit editorial freedom to choose how, where and what to publish," it said.
French government and European Union officials on Thursday urged the IRB to speak to the media coalition.
But the IRB and its subsidiary RWC turned down requests for negotiations and said in a statement they would "not be swayed by unreasonable demands and threats of non-attendance."