Rarely, do I come to the defense of my local newspaper, the Courier Journal, but one of their sports bloggers was kicked out of press row during a NCAA post-season baseball game. According to Brian Bennett, the Gannett-hired blogger received a memo on Friday stating the following (my bold added):

Since blogs are considered a live representation of the game, any blog that has action photos or game reports, including play-by-play, scores or any in-game updates, is specifically prohibited. In essence, no blog entries are permitted between the first pitch and the final out of each game.

The strange part is Brian was given press credentials as a blogger. He’d also been live blogging from the previous post-season series in Missouri. My local paper is owned by Gannett, so this isn’t a small company the NCAA is messing with. According to Brian’s blog, the paper’s attorney is already researching if the NCAA is somehow denying the paper the right to report.

I’m not a journalist and the majority of the public would still say that professional bloggers aren’t either. Regardless, this creates a scary precedent on what the NCAA may do in the future. I know other bloggers who have live blogged games (including yours truly), so why stop them now?

On a positive note, the University of Louisville Cardinals are now going to their first College World Series! Cheer them on if you make the trip, but don’t try blogging it live.

Photo credit: Slate.com

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