By Joe Strupp of Editor & Publisher and PDN staff

News organizations are upset over new photography and online coverage restrictions for Southeastern Conference (SEC) college football games.

The SEC's 2009 media credential policy, which was issued Friday, has drawn a letter of protest signed by the leaders of the Associated Press Sports Editors, Associated Press Managing Editors and the American Society of News Editors.

Among the specific objections are three rules relating to photography.

* The SEC states that still photos “may be posted on the internet only in connection with and as part of regular print news coverage.”

Regarding the Internet rule, the news organizations argue, “This is not only an unreasonable — and possibly illegal — infringement on our members’ copyrighted materials, it deprives the fans of the ability to revisit key moments of the day, week, or season by ostensibly preventing SEC coverage through presentation of online photo galleries or the archiving of photographs.”

* The SEC also says it “shall have the right to purchase prints of any published photographs... at the most favorable financial terms offered to third parties... and Bearer hereby grants the SEC and its member institutions a license at no additional charge to use the photographs for news coverage purposes and for display on their official websites and in their official publications.”

The editors respond, “There is no reason that our members should be restricted in this way, but be forced to allow the SEC and its members to ‘free ride’ off our work. If the SEC is intent on engaging in content delivery, it should develop its own content or negotiate on fair and equitable terms.”

* In another rule, the SEC “confers” on media outlets “a limited, non-exclusive and non-transferable license (with no right of sublicense)” to use photos for editorial purposes. The rule adds that except for news coverage, credentialed press "may not resell or license" images taken at SEC events.

The editors groups calls this language, “blatant attempts to rewrite existing law which vests copyright in the party that fixes the image or video.” The letter concludes, “We are especially concerned that the language indicates that the SEC feels the need to ‘grant’ a license to our photographers to even take pictures, as that could be further construed as a license to even cover the event. Our members have a right to cover these events, nothing less.”

Other issues include a restriction on any real-time blogging that could be marketed as a substitute for television or video coverage.

SEC officials did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement announcing the policy Friday, Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive said, “This revised policy reflects many of the concerns that we have heard. It is a balance between the media’s ability to cover our sporting events and the SEC’s ability to protect its digital rights and trademarks.”

The letter was addressed to Slive and signed by ASNE President Martin Kaiser, APSE President Garry Howard, and David Bailey, chair of APME's First Amendment Committee.

The disagreement is only the latest in a series of disputes between media outlets and sports leagues, which are increasingly trying to take control of Internet rights to game coverage. The dispute is reminiscent of the dispute last year over Major League Baseball rules. These disagreements usually end with news outlets and sports leagues reaching a compromise, though in rare cases news outlets have staged coverage boycotts.

Editors also are bracing for similar restrictions from other major college conferences, such as the Pac-10, Big-10, and ACC. “I believe this is going to get pretty contentious, pretty hot,” said John Cherwa, chair of the legal affairs committee of APSE and sports special projects editor for The Orlando Sentinel. “They are trying to get into the content business themselves.”

SEC member schools include the University of Alabama, University of Arkansas, Auburn University, University of Florida, University of Georgia, University of Kentucky, Louisiana State University, University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, University of South Carolina, University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt University.