Chapter 2
Sport, the media and the changing delivery of news
What roles do the media play in sport?
2.1
The media
play two distinct roles with regard to sport: the reporting of sport as news and
the broadcasting of sport as entertainment. The difference between these two
roles is critical to this inquiry.
2.2
The media's
role as reporter of sport as news includes the gathering of information,
including text, photographs, moving images and audio, for the purposes of
editorial use. The reporting of sport news often includes the use of
photographs or video images in a "highlight" format to add context
and depth to that reportage.
2.3
In the role
of broadcaster of sport for entertainment, media organisations generally purchase
exclusive (or near-exclusive) rights from a sporting organisation, usually to be
allowed to broadcast a sporting event in its entirety. The broadcasting of
sporting events in this way is intended to be of commercial benefit to the sporting
organisation, the broadcaster (rights holder) and sponsors of the event. The
media organisations that primarily purchase broadcast rights are television
companies.
The
delivery of sport through the media
2.4
Sport is
delivered to the public by the media as news and entertainment. Traditionally,
sport news has been delivered to the public by:
-
news
services, for example newspapers;
-
media
companies for whom news reporting is one aspect of their business but who also
broadcast sporting events, for example television networks and ABC radio; and
-
syndicated
news services or agencies that gather news and provide it to media
organisations via subscription services, for example Agence France-Presse (AFP)
and the Australian Associated Press (AAP).
2.5
Sport news is
gathered at its source by journalists, including photojournalists, who attend
sporting events, and by media organisations utilising broadcast sound and
images gathered by broadcast rights holders.
2.6
It is
important to recognise that news can comprise text, still photography, moving
images and audio and is not restricted to any one of these categories.
Therefore photographs and video can be news reporting either independently of
or in conjunction with text reporting.
2.7
The
broadcasting of sport for entertainment is delivered to the public via the sale
of exclusive rights, primarily to television companies but also radio stations
and increasingly to internet sites and telecommunications (mobile phone)
companies. These rights enable the rights holder to exclusively broadcast the
sporting event live and, usually, in its entirety.
Current
regulation of sport news
2.8
Sport news is
currently regulated by a number of arrangements. These are copyright law (the Copyright
Act 1968), the accreditation of journalists and / or media organisations,
and the distinction between the business of news reporting agencies, non-news
media (such as broadcasting for entertainment) and sporting organisations.
2.9
Under current
copyright law, journalists, or their employer, own the copyright in their
reporting. Similarly, photographers own (or their employer owns) the copyright
in the still images they capture.
2.10
With regard
to sporting events, the copyright does not lie with the event or the sporting
performance itself. The copyright in a sporting event applies to the film
capturing the event and in the broadcasting of the event by sporting bodies or
rights holder(s). This can be owned by the broadcaster or the sporting
organisation or jointly, depending on the terms of contract.
2.11
The Copyright
Act 1968 (the Act) governs the use of copyrighted material in Australia.
The Act prohibits the reproduction of copyrighted works without the express consent
of the copyright holder. However, the Act provides for a number of exceptions
which do not constitute infringements of copyright in works.[1]
Some of these exceptions are allowed under 'fair dealing'.[2]
Section 42 of the Act allows fair dealing for the purpose of reporting news,
and states:
-
A fair
dealing with a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, or with an
adaptation of a literary, dramatic or musical work, does not constitute an
infringement of the copyright in the work if:
-
It is for the
purpose of, or is associated with, the reporting of news in a newspaper,
magazine or similar periodical and a sufficient acknowledgement of the work is
made; or
-
It is for the
purpose of, or is associated with, the reporting of news by means of a
communication or in a cinematograph film.[3]
2.12
In addition,
section 103B of the Act enables the use of audio-visual items under fair
dealing for the purpose of reporting news:
-
A fair dealing
with an audio-visual item does not constitute an infringement of the copyright
in the item or in any work or other audio-visual item included in the item if:
-
It is for the
purpose of, or is associated with, the reporting of news in a newspaper,
magazine or similar periodical and a sufficient acknowledgement of the
first-mentioned audio-visual item is made; or
-
It is for the
purpose of, or is associated with, the reporting of news by means of a
communication or in a cinematograph film.[4]
2.13
The Act does
not set specific guidelines as to what constitutes fair dealing in these cases.
In the absence of guidelines, parties rely on negotiation and, rarely,
litigation to determine what falls within the scope of these legislative
provisions.
2.14
Over time,
conventions have been developed between sporting organisations and the media to
implement the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright Act. An example of this
is the informal agreement[5]
of the 3 x 3 x 3 television protocol; that is, that up to three minutes of
footage can be re-broadcast at three hourly intervals and not more than three
times in a 24 hour period[6]
when reporting sport in television news.
2.15
The
accreditation of journalists and / or media organisations is another mechanism
by which the reporting of sport news is regulated. Sporting organisations use
accreditation to manage the attendance of journalists at their events and
thereby control access to sport content. The Coalition of Major Professional
Sports (COMPS) described the use of journalist accreditation by sporting
organisations:
Accreditation
agreements are used by sporting bodies as a means to ensure that without clear
regulation or other guidelines the intellectual property of sport is protected
and content is appropriately used in line with fair dealing principles.[7]
2.16
News media
organisations and other witnesses described accreditation somewhat differently.
They viewed it as a means by which sporting organisations could manage entry to
their events for security and safety reasons:
Historically,
the objective of accreditation terms and conditions was to ensure the security
of athletes and spectators attending the event.[8]
And:
...it
is perfectly acceptable for sporting organisations to ask media to apply for
accreditation. There have to be controls on the amount of representatives from
an organisation attending an event. There is also the additional burden on
organisations to make events safe, and having media accredited ensures a
potential security loophole is closed.[9]
2.17
The terms of
accreditation agreements between the media and sporting organisations are
negotiated by the parties.
2.18
Another
distinction between news media organisations, non-news media and sporting
organisations is provided by the way in which each of these view their business
function.
2.19
News media
organisations have viewed their business as that of gatherers and distributors
of information:
The
news media exists to witness events and report on them on behalf of the public.
Judging, creating and distributing news is what we have done for generations.[10]
2.20
News media
organisations view this role as distinct from that of broadcasters, who provide
information for the purposes of entertainment. AP noted:
News
organisations exist to gather and report news independently including news on
sporting events. Their primary interest in sporting events is editorial. Their
commercial interest comes from providing the news that they gather to their
subscribers. Organisations such as The Associated Press do not have any other
interest in sporting events and do not purport to exercise any of the rights
which historically have been regarded as within the domain of the sporting
organisations.[11]
2.21
Traditionally,
the role of sporting organisations has been that of promoter and developer of
sport, and organiser of sporting events. Cricket Australia described this role:
[Cricket
Australia] exists to manage the game of cricket on behalf of the Australian
public and requires a commercial model that allows it to deliver and invest in
the sport in the current format so that cricket continues to be part of the
Australian way of life and so that the game can be supported from grassroots to
the elite level.[12]
2.22
However, the
advent of the digital era and the emergence of technologies such as the
internet and mobile devices have meant that the traditional boundary between
sport news and sport entertainment and advertising has become blurred.
The
emergence of digital media
2.23
The digital
era has led to the emergence of a variety of new technologies. Many of these
have enabled the communication of information in ways not previously possible,
most notably on demand and "on the go" via wireless and mobile
devices.
2.24
These new
technologies have changed consumers' expectations with regard to how and when
they can access information:
...digital
reporting is the norm and has been for more than ten years, and is naturally
evolving a greater importance for the public as their consumption of media
changes...[13]
And:
...technology
now allows news to be either reported or disseminated in different modes via a
multiplicity of platforms. Which device or platform ultimately acquires
primacy, will be a function of consumer choice.[14]
2.25
Consumers now
expect to be able to access information in a format and at a time that is
convenient to them. This has contributed to the success and popularity of both
news and sport websites, and news and sporting content delivered to mobile
devices.
2.26
Some of these
new media platforms and their impact on the provision of both news and sporting
content are discussed below.
Digital
media platforms
2.27
Digital
television has enabled television networks to broadcast new channels in
addition to their traditional offerings. These additional digital channels are
often focussed on a particular topic or targeted to a certain audience, such as
sport, news or children's viewing. Network Ten's high definition sport channel
'One', providing 24 hour sports viewing, is an example of this.[15]
2.28
Not only has
digital television allowed television networks to offer channels devoted solely
to a particular topic but to also offer consumers additional features such as
on demand interactive applications. Premier Media Group described interactive
services it offers as part of its Fox Sports channels:
...we
also offer interactive text based application whereby viewers can access text
based news stories produced by our editorial journalists by pressing the red
button on their remote. Additionally, during our coverage of certain sports on
the FOX SPORTS channels (for example, cricket) we provide our viewers with
comprehensive live and historical sports statistics...[16]
2.29
Ongoing
technology changes to mobile devices, such as mobile phones and handheld
organisers (or personal digital assistants), and the development of the third
generation (3G) network and associated services have provided additional means
by which consumers can access content. Mobile devices and mobile networks
enable consumers to have information delivered to them when and where they want
it, for example news updates or the broadcast of a sporting event.
2.30
The advent of
the internet along with increased capacity, mobility and speed over time has
provided another new media platform. These advances are particularly relevant
to the access of large images and video footage via the internet that in the
past were too cumbersome to be downloaded and viewed effectively. However,
increased download speeds now make it possible for video to be viewed online
via a computer in much the same way as traditional television.
Effects
of new platforms on the media environment
2.31
New digital
media platforms have changed the way in which consumers access information. The
accessibility and mobility of new platforms has resulted in an increased
appetite for and delivery of news and sport content to consumers, with
information available when, where and in a format convenient to the consumer:
Because
the points of access are so much more diverse, the public’s interest is
heightened, their hunger for news has grown...[17]
2.32
The committee
heard that whilst technological advances have changed the dissemination and
consumption of news they have not fundamentally changed what is news:
Notwithstanding
that the mode of sports news reporting may have changed with the emergence of
new forms of digital technology, the essential characteristics of the content
remain the same. A cricket score, a football score or the winner of a
tournament remains the same regardless of whether the result is broadcast over
free to air television, pay television, the internet or mobile phones.
...
It
is important to recognise that, notwithstanding significant changes in
technology, the essential nature and characteristics of sports news reporting
remain unchanged in the digital age.[18]
2.33
Rather,
consumer demand for information has meant that news disseminated to consumers
is updated more frequently. For example, traditionally the score of a cricket
match would be disseminated to consumers at scheduled television news bulletins
which may be available three times per day. So, the news would provide three
updated cricket scores. In the current media environment, however, a consumer
may want a news update on the cricket score every hour and so, in response to
that demand, news media organisations are providing news updates as the event
happens:
News
happens with a timing that cannot be predicted. A facet of digital media is its
ability to break news. Publishers can see from user surveys and usage patterns
that the key demand of users of news websites is “breaking news” – provided by
RSS feeds, email alerts, Twitter, dynamically loaded web-pages and so on. These
can be delivered either to the traditional web environment or to the mobile
platform.
Delivering
news in this way has quickly gone beyond a technical capability. The
expectations of the Australian public have been re-framed, as they relate to
how our citizens wish to consume news.[19]
2.34
The AAP was
of a similar view:
The
audience is sophisticated and their demands much higher. In an age where the
public can see or hear events unfold anywhere via a live broadcast on numerous
media platforms, it is a reasonable demand that they will be able to collect
the news associated with those events, with the same degree of flexibility and
freedom.[20]
2.35
In addition
to the increased consumption of news services via digital media, new media
platforms have provided new opportunities for sporting organisations to seek to
commercialise sport content through the sale of exclusive media rights. For
example, it has become increasingly common for sporting organisations to sell
internet or wireless / mobile phone rights to enable sporting events to be
broadcast in full via internet streaming or as downloads to mobile phones:
Hutchison
is the sponsor of the Australian test cricket team through Cricket Australia
and is the holder of the exclusive wireless content rights to all Cricket
Australia matches played in Australia. Hutchison has been a sponsor of the
Australian test cricket team and mobile rights holders since 2002, and we
recently renewed that sponsorship until 2013. Through that relationship we
offer to our customers an extensive range of cricket content including live
mobile TV coverage, a magazine style show called The Pitch, highlights, scores,
alerts and news.[21]
Similarly,
Telstra is the mobile rights holder for rugby league.[22]
2.36
There has
also been a notable proliferation of sport internet sites. Not only have
sporting organisations developed their own websites detailing fixtures, team
line-ups, results, match footage and statistics[23]
but so too have some media organisations. Examples include Fairfax Media's
'Real Footy' and 'Rugby Heaven' websites and ninemsn's 'Wide World of Sport'
website.[24]
These websites offer content that overlaps with that of sporting organisations
and include news stories, commentary and analysis, photos, fixtures and games
results.
2.37
The internet
is a visual platform. As such, most web pages offer not only text but a variety
of images to provide depth to their content. Increasingly, with the aid of
improved internet capacity, the volume of photos and video footage available
via the internet has been increasing. This can be seen in the growing
popularity and availability of online photo and video galleries.
2.38
The
increasing availability of images and video on internet sites may result in the
unauthorised use of images and video on both peer-to-peer web pages and
overseas websites outside the Australian jurisdiction. The committee heard
evidence of instances in which copyrighted footage was embedded in or made
available on websites without the permission of the copyright holder.[25]
2.39
Overall, new
media platforms have had a profound effect on the way in which news and
sporting content is presented and delivered to, and demanded by consumers. The
media environment has changed from one where news and sporting content was
provided by a limited number of providers (for example, those with a
broadcasting licence or a newspaper printing press) at predictable times (the
six o'clock news, the morning newspaper, the Saturday night game coverage) to
one where information is available in numerous formats from a multitude of
providers when and where a consumer demands it.
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