A letter sent Monday by three national journalism groups to the University administration is a sign broadcasters are refusing to quell their opposition to a University-proposed rule limiting sports highlights in news and weekend programs.
On Monday, The Radio Television News Directors Association, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press sent the letter that echoed complaints made by local broadcasters at a July 11 public hearing that the proposal steps on their constitutional ability to air footage.
“While we respect the University’s economic interest in promoting University athletics and preserving contract rights granted to its media partners,” the letter said, “your proposed restrictions have gone too far and represent an unconstitutional limitation on the ability of the press to gather and report the news.”
President Dave Frohnmayer, Vice President Dan Williams and General Counsel Melinda Grier all received a copy of the letter, which urges the University to reconsider the rule but stops short of threatening legal action.
Last week Sen. Rick Metsger, D-Welches, a former Portland sportscaster, said he would seek legislative action if the University’s final draft isn’t in stark contrast to the current proposed limits.
The proposal aims to restrict broadcasters to 20 seconds of game highlights and 20 seconds of interviews during the 48 hours after any Duck game. Special shows outside a daily sports report during news broadcasts would receive 30 seconds of each.
The idea to limit coverage stems from a long-standing dispute between the University and local television stations. ESPN Regional Sports, in the middle of a five-year exclusive contract with Duck sports, allows footage to be aired on KEZI, Eugene’s ABC affiliate.
Both ESPN and ABC are owned by the Disney Corporation.
But CBS affiliate KVAL, which held the University sports contract until the 1999-2000 school year, continued to show Duck football game footage on its “Inside the PAC” show, which highlights all teams in the Pacific-10 Conference.
ESPN and KEZI feared the show had unfair access to their contracted footage and “Inside the PAC” resembled KEZI’s “Mike Bellotti Show.”
On Thursday, the attorney for KVAL’s Fisher Broadcasting sent Grier a letter refuting her claims in the July 17 Emerald that the proposed rule doesn’t violate First Amendment rights.
Grier said the University is not restricting content if everyone has the same access.
Assistant Athletic Director Dave Heeke added that the school is obligated to protect ESPN’s right as the primary contract holder.
But KVAL’s attorney, Joel DeVore, said the amount a station can show is a content issue, especially with the proposed restrictions and consequences for violators.
The proposal states media can’t use any footage without specific permission on a case-by-case basis after one week has expired. And if a station violates any of the time rules, the University can revoke that station’s press pass.
DeVore said both would be a way to restrict the content one station can put in its newscast.
“It puts a razor wire fence around Autzen Stadium,” he said.
Grier, who has also received two other letters from DeVore requesting a response to his claims, has yet to write him back or call. She is on vacation this week and could not be reached for comment about the letter.
But Bill Johnstone, the president of the Oregon Association of Broadcasters, did have a chance to meet with Grier, Heeke and Athletic Director Bill Moos last week. Johnstone previously said that if the rule is passed in its current form, the OAB will take the issue to court, and he made his intentions clear in the meeting.
“We’ll follow that through as far as it takes,” Johnstone said.
He added that the meeting was mostly an opportunity for both sides to establish their goals and concerns.
Heeke said the school hopes to have a final draft ready by August.