More sports authorities clamp down on blogging
A couple of months ago I wrote about the possibility of blogging the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, though if this latest news becomes standard practice, I have my doubts.
According to Paid Content, all athletes, physicians, coaches or massage therapists at July’s Pan American Games in Brazil will be prohibited from blogging about the games whilst in session.
Moving to the Rugby World Cup, beginning in September in Paris, the International Rugby Board is giving press credentials only to those who limit the number of photos they publish online, and so long as they don’t obscure sponsor’s names with superimposed headlines.
“We’re not being draconian…It’s just in some instances we need to protect ourselves if people step over the mark,” they said.
Of course, banning bloggers is both futile and perverse. Bloggers will blog regardless, and will likely do it more fervently if told they’re not allowed to. Unfortunately, a highly likely outcome of this is a string of lawsuits (or at least, letters from lawyers to bloggers). Many organisations, both within and outside the media, still don’t really understand or embrace blogging, Web 2.0, and user-generated content.
