That Crazy Ban

The Swindon Advertiser's cunning plan against Southampton's photographer ban has now gone national. This from the Sun:

A CUNNING newspaper has found an ingenious way of celebrating Swindon's thrashing of a South Coast Club — by using Subbuteo!

The Advertiser were left stumped after a crazy ban on photographers meant they would not be allowed to take pictures at the Robins' away match on Tuesday night.

I can confirm that my own Subbuteo set was not harmed in the making of the photos.

There is a serious point to this though. By restricting photography to one agency sets a dangerous precedent for attempts to control media rights. The agency's loyalty will be to the club not to press freedom. So questions inevitably arise about whether they will make photographs available of Southampton players who are; sent off, involved in altercations, gesturing to the crowd and so on. It would be unlikely. What if photographs are manipulated or cropped in favour of the club? We'll never know.

The ban is ridiculous and draconian. It is already proving to be counterproductive with many papers ridiculing the policy:

Mr Cortese clearly thinks his club will make a buck or two by syndicating pictures taken by their own man. I've got news for you, Nicola: You won't.

If newspapers hate one thing, it is the greed of people like you and we press people tend to stick together in defiance of arrogance.

Yes, the Echo has let its readers down today by not printing pictures of last night's match. But we will not be held to ransom by the likes of Nicola Cortese.

A policy conceived solely in the interests of finances, I'm not sure the chairman Nicola Cortese fully appreciates the implications of the ban to the club.