Australia’s two main news organisations, News Corp and Fairfax Media, have withdrawn from officially covering the 2015 rugby union World Cup in England and Wales after organisers insisted on draconian restrictions which would have impeded independent journalism.
World Rugby, the international body overseeing the World Cup and formerly known as the International Rugby Board, has demanded strict control of broadcasting interviews and news beyond existing Australian law, in return for providing journalists and photographers with access to games, training grounds and official team hotels at the tournament, which starts September 18.
World Rugby’s refusal to lift restrictions means that many rugby writers and photographers from Australia will not officially attend World Cup games.
It was a similar situation at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, however on that occasion the journalists were able to interview team members at their hotels.
News Corp group editorial director Campbell Reid said: “You can’t agree to have the Rugby World Cup lanyard around your neck and then surrender your rights and obligations as a reporter and photographer.
“I would like to say we’ve had open and frank conversations with the Australian rugby officials and the sport in Australia needs all the coverage it can possibly get.’’
A sticking point in the negotiations is that World Rugby has insisted broadcast match content provided by accredited media must be geo-blocked and cannot continue to be available after 48 hours. This is to satisfy contracts signed by World Rugby with broadcasters in other parts of the world.
Some British news organisations were also concerned about the degree of control exerted by World Rugby, but it’s understood they have agreed to the accreditation conditions in order to cover a “home’’ tournament.
Behind the scenes, there is frustration that British and World Rugby officials do not understand the struggle Australian rugby union has for publicity in the country’s crowded football code market. Mr Reid agrees.
“The kinds of restrictions that they are asking us to live with not only expect us to abandon positions that are acceptable under Australian law, but they are demanding that we turn over to them the decisions of editing and publishing and how often we publish stories and how long we publish them for,” Mr Reid said.
“We find that extremely disappointing and the link between sports journalists and sports fans is hugely important in our view for both people who love rugby and people who play rugby and people who administer rugby. That seems to be not that important to people who control the game at an international level.’’
World Rugby spokesman Dominic Rumbles said he was aware the Fairfax and News Corp would not be accredited for the Rugby World Cup. He said World Rugby had made a raft of concessions from the terms and conditions of four years ago and officials had hoped this year’s conditions would have satisfied Australian media.
“World Rugby recognises the tremendous role that news organisations play in promoting rugby around the world and has collaborated to deliver a progressive protocol package that includes the use of match content online by global news organisations (a first by a major sporting event), the provision of the post-match press conference feed without restriction and access to the mixed zone for filming — all in addition to unrestricted access to teams between matches,” he said.
“This position recognises and balances the changing online media landscape with the need to protect the rights of our broadcasters and commercial partners, whose significant investment sustains the development and growth of rugby from the playground to the podium.
“We are disappointed for fans and remain hopeful of resolution.”
Mr Reid said the coverage of the Rugby World Cup and the Wallabies by News Corp would be ‘’very interesting and different’’ to what it has been in the past.
“Sometimes it (coverage) gets better because you have to think outside the square,’’ he said.
