View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Archive content
July 5, 2001updated 17 May 2007 11:30am

Press hopes form will satisfy football leagues

By Press Gazette

 

There is hope that the row between the press and the Premier and Football Leagues over allowing football writers access to matches next season may soon be over.

A simple admission form, which has the backing of journalists, press officers and the newspaper industry, is before the leagues for their approval.

Football DataCo boss David Folker is submitting the form, which does not deal with the contentious issue of journalists supplying information to online services, to his board.

Members of a press working party have made it clear to Football DataCo that their scheme banning journalists supplying digital information is unworkable.

Their counter proposal will give the leagues knowledge of who is working for whom in press boxes.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

Media organisations, freelances and agencies would fax clubs the standardised form. The club’s press officer would approve or refuse, and the reporter would be asked to countersign the form when collecting a press pass, stating any additional work they may be doing at the match, said Gerry Cox of Teamwork Sports Agency and the executive council of the Football Writers’ Association, who is a member of the working party.

The forms would then be passed on to Football DataCo.

"It has become clear that some of the biggest clubs in the land had not agreed to centralised control of press boxes and restrictions being placed on journalists," said Cox.

"Hopefully, the situation has come to a satisfactory conclusion. We feel that we have offered a positive way forward in terms of the working arrangements in press boxes, without resorting to any of the heavy-handed measures initially proposed by Football DataCo."

Steve Oram, director of the Newspaper Publishers Association, commented: "We have grounds for believing the form will be accepted."

Cox said Folker was unable to give any assurance that the leagues would not try to impose a system of conditional entry to press boxes on the eve of the season. "We may have to warn our members to be on their guard about this and certainly not to sign away any of their rights to report on football matches," he added.

Negotiations continue on a second front. The leagues want to charge a web licence for newspapers’ websites, proposing a £25,000 fee for betting sites and £5,000 for newspaper sites reporting their matches and publishing pictures.

Newspaper and agency representatives have met DataCo and told them they will resist a web licence.

They are said to be exploring alternative arrangements to enable them to gain access to matches and publish and sell pictures widely without paying a licence fee.

They have put forward a proposal for payments for text and photographs of between £100 and £3,000, according to the size of the site.

By Jean Morgan

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network