For Profit Websites Trying To Take Over High School Sports
By Nuno Sciaraffa for Lrd Sports Wire & 956 Sports Laredo
The times are changing and sometimes they are not for the
betterment of the local high school sports teams. Locally in
Laredo, Texas the addition of several for profit websites are
popping up everywhere.
Seems like anyone with a digital camera are hoping to make
money off high school sports in Laredo has become the largest
growing sector of the economy in Laredo.
Lrd Sports Wire has had this conversation with both AD at UISD
and LISD in the past year.
While no has the right to stop anyone from earning a living.
The use of campuses at both school districts for profit ventures
by private companies has not been allowed at both schools. More
when the schools do not get a penny from the profit making.
As it stands there are several measures at both school districts
AD’s offices that screens who will gets on the sports fields in
Laredo. While all AD’s across Texas share information about
media groups in their area. They share who to let into the games
to cover the sports.
Most media groups are allowed but when someone new comes to
film or take pictures at games. The AD’S always ask who they are
what they do and how are they helping to promote sports in their
area. Which now makes it interesting since there are a lot of
profit taking camera photographers attending games and video
cameras are everywhere at the games. Most are there to take
pictures or videos and resell them back to the public for a fee
that either the booster clubs have to pay or the campus
coordinators agree on.
While not all work with the campus coordinators but somehow
arrive at the high school sporting events and take pictures and
videos is what is alarming. Several sites in Laredo have opened
up this past year and only a few do work with the schools and
only Laredo Media Sports .com is the only video outlets that do
not charge the schools for their videos. Everyone else does.
The worse thing is that those that do go and take the pictures
and videos sell them back to the parents or players and not a
penny is going to the schools or the sports programs they visited.
UISD cleaned house at SAC this fall when way too many
photographers were taking pictures of the high school football
games.
The AD’s office started to ask key questions as they were signing
in at the media press entrance. To their credit at UISD and LISD
they started to clean up the act on the photographers. Most were
people they did not know or had not bothered to respect the
rules established by both school districts. Most all they had not
had the courage to go visit the AD’s office first to register as a
media outlet. That in itself is the first sign a photographer and
video outlet is not in it for the athletes, schools or district. They
are for profit only on the high school sporting teams in Laredo.
Lrd Sports Wire conducted inquires into several school districts
across UIL Region IV high schools. Not one that we talked from
Austin, Corpus Christi , and the Texas Valley allow for profit only
photographers and video camera personnel. They all stated to
Lrd Sports Wire that all media outlets have to be registered with
the school districts to bring on their equipment on to the
campuses or stadiums.
The only media they allow on the sides lines at football games
are the media that they know and at times they do have to chase
several away that are not registered with the school districts. So,
where do the upcoming websites stand? Are they there to make a
profit only and not help the school districts sports teams they are
covering?
As it stands Lrd Sports Wire and their affiliates make sure that we
are registered with the school districts we cover. Now we find
there is a need to have more screening at all sporting events at
the high school games. Rules will have to be re looked at and
some changes will have to occur.
We look forward to the day that everyone follows the rules
established by the school districts. We will be creating a
monitoring system to make sure that all those at the games
taking pictures are not professional photographers making a
dollar on the games and not giving back to the school districts.
The set ups are simple. The first that have the right to have the
photographers at the evens are the established newspapers.
Followed by the affiliated televisions stations. Then the registered
and screened media outlets the school districts approve.
Parents also have to be made aware of the situation that their
son or daughter athletic actions are photographed and recorded
on video by the correct media outlets. It starts there. If you are
asked to pay for a picture of your son or daughter, while they
were playing in a high school game recently. Ask if they are
helping the booster clubs or the schools your son or daughter
participate. Or call the AD office to see if they are registered with
the school districts to charge for the pictures or videos.
Those of us that are media always have our picture Media Id's
with us. If they do not one should be the first sign something is
not right.