A Louisville Courier-Journal reporter was banned recently from the press box for blogging while an NCAA Tournament baseball game was in progress, but that’s not likely to happen at Kansas University-run sporting events, associate athletic director Jim Marchiony said.

“Our philosophy is that, as long as it doesn’t infringe upon someone’s rights that they’ve purchased from us, then we don’t act on it,” said Marchiony, who added the department has no written policy on the matter. “… It’s all part of a much broader discussion about what is journalism and what isn’t, where the First Amendment begins and ends.”

Marchiony admitted to not exactly knowing what “blogging from a game” is.

“If he’s sitting there discussing what happened during the game, that’s one thing,” Marchiony said. “If he’s showing video, then I’ve got a problem with that because someone has paid for those specific rights.”

The Louisville reporter was doing the former.

Marchiony said it would be his personal preference that everyone get their information from the athletic department’s official website, kuathletics.com.

“But once something happens, my feeling is, it’s out there in the public domain, so (KUsports.com editor) Ryan Greene could be sitting in his office doing this off radio or off the television broadcast,” Marchiony said. “We just haven’t gotten to the point where we think what you’re doing is pulling viewers away from television or radio because there’s only one place they can listen to it, theoretically, but it’s not affecting anybody’s purchased rights. We’ll let you know when you start doing something we think affects that.”

Marchiony said there are areas he considers questionable regarding the media’s coverage of sports in today’s world.

“The lines have been blurred a little in journalism over the years,” he said. “Is it journalism or is it entertainment or is it business? I have more of a problem with your photographers coming to our games and selling photos. You’ve got that credential to cover the games, supposedly in the name of journalism, well, selling calendars or selling photos has nothing to do with journalism. That quote, offends me, unquote, more than someone blogging on a game.

“Why shouldn’t the Journal-World pay for a credential if you’re going to use the photos not for journalism purposes? You’re getting that credential under the First Amendment, to cover the event. Putting it in the newspaper is one thing. Selling them has nothing to do with your role as a journalist. It’s got to do with making money. I’m much more quote, offended, unquote, by that than I am about Ryan Greene blogging from the Dolph Simons media room.”

Marchiony was reading the New York Times Web site about the Louisville blogger and called attention to what he considered an example of the blurring of the lines.

“There was an ad to buy a Derek Jeter autographed baseball at the New York Times store,” Marchiony said. “What the New York Times is, is totally different than what the New York Times was 30 years ago. Newspapers weren’t selling autographed baseballs 30 years ago.

“Companies that own newspapers aren’t what they used to be. The New York Times Company, The World Company … are not just putting out a newspaper anymore. They’re selling pictures they take at events. They’re writing books about college athletics and selling them. Sports Illustrated is a perfect example. Sports Illustrated is putting out collector books every time someone wins a national championship. They’ve started paying schools to do it. Thirty years ago, Sports Illustrated was a magazine. Now they’re making money in other ways under the guise of journalism. Why shouldn’t Sports Illustrated pay to cover events? Why shouldn’t the Lawrence Journal-World pay to cover our events?”

Marchiony said he understood that the media’s coverage of teams, for which it does not charge advertising rates, benefits the teams.

“It’s a symbiotic relationship, I’m not denying that,” he said. “… I’m a newspaper guy, in a sense. I appreciate the roots of newspapers and what newspapers did to get college sports going when there was no TV. I appreciate the role newspapers played and still play, but I struggle with what they’re doing now.”