One of the world’s biggest providers of independent news, The Associated Press, has ceased coverage of the big India-England cricket series because Press photographers are banned from attending.
AP, which is a member of the News Media Coalition of major publishers and news agencies, has notified its global clients, including those in India and the UK, as follows:
AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — The Associated Press and other media outlets have been prohibited from sending independent photographers to the India-England test match in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. Because of that, the AP has decided not to move any coverage of the event in any format.
Organizers allowed up to 55,000 fans into the match, about half of the recently renovated stadium’s capacity. However, they denied all attempts to negotiate even allowing one or two photographers representing independent media, instead telling news agencies to rely on handouts from photographers paid by the organizers.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the News Media Coalition and news agencies have negotiated with leagues and sports organizations around the world and have been able to arrange some type of independent coverage in almost all cases. The organizers in Ahmedabad have refused to allow any photographers, referencing advice from medical officials despite allowing thousands of fans into the stadium.
“The presence of an independent news reporting source is necessary in order to ensure the credibility and integrity of the images distributed to world viewers,” said Denis Paquin, director of sports photography for the AP.
In a statement the NMC said: “This is a big miss for the event organizers. Independent photography is vital to the profile and integrity of the game of cricket. News coverage provides a massive commercial boost to sponsors – which those BCCI partners have lost out on.”
- The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. News collected by the AP is published and republished by more than 1,300 newspapers and broadcasters. The AP has 3,300 emoloyees, operates 248 newsrooms in 99 countries and its news services are in English, Spanish, and Arabic. The AP, founded in 1846, has earned 54 Pulitzer Prizes, including 32 for photography, since the award was established in 1917.
