Photography and videotaping

The controversy over access to high school sporting events in Illinois flared up again this weekend when the Illinois High School Association disallowed some newspaper photographers access to the field to cover the state football championships.

Another case of a journalist being held in contempt of court for refusing to let his newsgathering product be used in a criminal trial has come to a head in California.

Santa Barbara Independent photographer Paul Wellman had taken more than 300 pictures at a murder scene back in March, and Superior Court Judge Brian Hill has ordered that he turn those over to defense counsel -- despite a strong California shield law that should let such a subpoena be quashed.

According to the Associated Press:

The Illinois Press Association and the Illinois High School Association have compromised over rules regarding photographs and access to sporting events after a lawsuit filed this month.

The lawsuit filed in Sangamon County Circuit Court by the IPA, The (Springfield) State Journal-Register and The (Crystal Lake) Northwest Herald asked for a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of IHSA rules.

The U.S. military continues to refuse to release any evidence against an AP photojournalist who has already spent 19 months in prison even though he has yet to be charged with a crime.

The military first took Bilal Hussein, a member of the AP's 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning photo team, into custody in April of 2006 when Hussein provided shelter for several strangers after hearing an explosion on a nearby street in Ramadi.

The Illinois Press Association filed suit Thursday against the Illinois High School Association, seeking a temporary restraining order barring enforcement of  rules regarding the use of photographs and access to sporting events.

“We have voiced our opposition to the IHSA,” said David L. Bennett, executive director of the IPA, “but they have declined to accommodate the press in a free and fair manner. We can no longer sit on the bench on this.”