KEY POINTS:
PARIS - With the first game of the rugby World Cup kicking off on Saturday (NZ time), tournament organisers are embroiled in a media row that threatens to seriously restrict written and photographic coverage of the six-week event.
Leading international news agencies Reuters, Agence France Presse (AFP) and Associated Press, together with a world coalition of newspaper groups, are still trying to reach an agreement with the International Rugby Board (IRB) over the terms and conditions of media coverage.
The media coalition says the IRB has gone back on an agreement reached last month in Dublin on contentious issues which had included an IRB insistence on free entitlement to use all photos taken by the media at the World Cup.
The groups say the IRB appeared to have conceded on this issue but that others remain, including the internet use of pictures and use of non-match material, such as press conferences, gathered by non-rights holding TV cameras.
Both sides have been in discussion in the weeks leading into the tournament but, with agreement yet to be reached, Reuters issued a statement on Tuesday outlining its position.
"Reuters is ready and poised to cover the 2007 rugby World Cup. However, Reuters remains in discussion with the IRB on key licensing and accreditation issues that are yet to be resolved," the statement by Monique Villa, managing director media said.
"Reuters, along with many other leading news organisations, are still waiting for formal clarification on matters agreed with the IRB in August.
"Reuters is committed to covering the World Cup and to providing the world's media with premium timely text, photographs and TV. However, freedom of the press and Reuters intellectual property are at the core of both our business and Reuters editorial principles, and these must be upheld."
French agency AFP issued a statement last weekend criticising the IRB's stance.
"These new terms are totally unacceptable and have been rejected by all members of the coalition," said AFP chairman Pierre Louette in a letter to the French minister for health, youth and sport, Roselyne Bachelot and to Bernard Lapasset, head of the French World Cup organising committee.
The IRB was unavailable for comment on Tuesday but did issue a statement.
"Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) is extremely disappointed that a misinformation campaign is being waged against rugby World Cup 2007," the statement said.
"RWCL has been in dialogue with representatives of the media since last December on various aspects of the media accreditation terms and conditions and has made every effort to amend them to accommodate concerns that have been expressed.
"Despite this there are unscrupulous parties raising new issues in the media that have not at any time been discussed with RWCL and who are making completely false claims about the media accreditation programme for Rugby World Cup 2007."
It further added: "The IRB and the France 2007 Organising Committee are appalled that the misinformation campaign has tried to include Government and sponsors without telling them the full story including details of the amendments RWCL has already made to the terms and conditions.
"RWCL has the full support of the FFR, tournament sponsors and rights holding broadcaster on its stance and they have recognised the concessions RWCL has made."
- REUTERS
