MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The International Olympic Committee is concerned that moves to restrict media coverage of sports will erode free speech, former IOC vice president Kevan Gosper told an Australian Senate hearing Wednesday.
Gosper, head of the IOC's press commission, said curbs on absolute free speech were contrary to the Olympic charter.
National administrators for cricket and Australian rules football are among sports organizers pushing the Australian government to alter copyright laws to give them greater control over the publication of pictures and coverage of their events.
Some sports organizations are using terms and conditions of accreditation for media access to impose tighter controls. Media groups argue that the restrictions contribute to sanitizing coverage and deny the public proper access to news and information.
Gosper told a Senate hearing into sports reporting that the trend was a concern, and was not restricted to Australia.
"The IOC considers freedom of the press to be essential and we recognize media attention at the Beijing Olympics was not just focused on the event itself," Gosper was quoted saying. "Excluding the press runs contrary to the public's expectations in a democratic society.
"We place no limits on or exclude the press and try to provide an open environment for reporting that might be detrimental of our position.
"If, at the Beijing Olympic Games, the Chinese government had not accredited photographers and offered their own official photographer ... it would have been considered unconscionable."
The IOC generates income from broadcast rights and does place broadcast restrictions on non-rights holders.
The main issues at the Australian hearing include intellectual property, publication of photos and video streamed on the Internet and delivery of text and images to mobile devices. Sports organizers want to restrict publication by media to maximize revenue from selling rights in the digital media.
Global news agencies including The Associated Press were unable to accept conditions for accreditation for Australia's 2008-2009 cricket season and did not cover the series involving South Africa and New Zealand.
Organizers of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament only ended a similar deadlock with international agencies after their tournament was shifted to South Africa on security grounds earlier this month.
A standoff between media groups and organizers of the 2007 Rugby World Cup ended just before the tournament started, and only after intervention from the French government and threats of media boycotts.
Australian Football League lawyers have argued that media groups publish extended videos of matches on the Internet under the guise of news reporting, which cuts into potential revenue streams for the sports.
The AFL has declined access to photographers from Australia's domestic news agency and asked it to buy images from the official, licensed photographic contractor, the Australian Associated Press reported.
AAP made a submission to the hearing Wednesday, calling for a guaranteed right of access to sporting events under an industry code of practice.
The AP, Reuters, Agence-France Presse and News Ltd. are among the other news organizations which have made submissions to the hearing.
The committee is expected to report its findings on May 14.
