Dispute Over Coverage Resolved

Sports editors and major league baseball have resolved their differences over issues in the season credential that included how pictures and words were transmitted from games.

“The revised credential form essentially preserves the status quo and eliminates the most contested restrictions,” Tim Burke, assistant managing editor/sports of the Palm Beach Post and president of the Associated Press Sports Editors, said Friday. “MLB bargained in good faith throughout the process, working with APSE to reach this agreement.”

Major league baseball had sought to limit how often journalists could transmit information and how many photographs they could send out while the game was in progress. Newspapers also objected to rules that would have prevented them from using their own photos from games in other mediums, such as for promotional use.

“We believe that the current language satisfies the concerns of all parties,” said Robert DuPuy, major league baseball’s chief legal officer. “Major league baseball values the coverage it receives from the various news organizations and hopes that this dispute can now be put behind us.”

The disagreement had dragged on since the start of the season April 1, and many newspapers had refused to sign the credential. In the meantime, sportswriters had used temporary passes to cover games.