Royal wedding no longer news
Source: Agencies |
June 20, 2010, Sunday
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THE world's biggest international news agencies declined to cover the wedding between Sweden's crown princess and her fitness trainer yesterday after a dispute over the release of television images.
The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters argued that restrictions by Sweden's national broadcaster would mean many viewers in Europe and North America would not see video images of the wedding until many hours - for some an entire day - after Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling took their vows.
The three agencies jointly issued a protest to the royal household and broadcaster SVT, calling the access restrictions unreasonable. When no resolution was reached on the video issue, the three agencies decided to withdraw coverage altogether.
"The restrictions of this newsworthy event apply only to video, but if our video coverage is unreasonably restricted, we cannot cover the event in any format," said Kathleen Carroll, executive editor at AP. "No text stories and no photographs."
Press freedom
A statement from Reuters said it was withdrawing from coverage due to the dispute. "Reuters regrets this course of action. However, Reuters remains committed to press freedom and protecting the interests and coverage rights of our global client base," the statement said.
SVT was given exclusive access to the wedding itself and imposed tight limits on allowing video of the vows to be distributed outside Sweden. The agencies argued that the wedding was a state event and should be treated as a news event - with access on reasonable and timely terms.
"The royal wedding does not fall into the category of sport or entertainment. It is an event of historical importance and coverage of it should not be made subject to restrictions and commercial charges more commonly associated with private, sponsor-controlled events of that nature," said Nicole Courtney-Leaver, an executive for Reuters, in a letter on behalf of the agencies to the royal court.
SVT barred the agencies from sending video to commercial channels around Europe and North America and told them they could make use of a brief segment for 48 hours only.
Victoria, 32, and Westling, 36, were exchanging vows in Stockholm Cathedral on the same date the princess's father King Carl XVI Gustaf wed Queen Silvia 34 years ago in front of nearly 1,000 royals and dignitaries from across the world.
The unlikely match began when the Swedish heir to the throne started working out at Westling's gym in Stockholm in 2000.
It was the first royal wedding in Europe since 2008, when Denmark's Prince Joachim wed Marie Cavallier of France.
The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters argued that restrictions by Sweden's national broadcaster would mean many viewers in Europe and North America would not see video images of the wedding until many hours - for some an entire day - after Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling took their vows.
The three agencies jointly issued a protest to the royal household and broadcaster SVT, calling the access restrictions unreasonable. When no resolution was reached on the video issue, the three agencies decided to withdraw coverage altogether.
"The restrictions of this newsworthy event apply only to video, but if our video coverage is unreasonably restricted, we cannot cover the event in any format," said Kathleen Carroll, executive editor at AP. "No text stories and no photographs."
Press freedom
A statement from Reuters said it was withdrawing from coverage due to the dispute. "Reuters regrets this course of action. However, Reuters remains committed to press freedom and protecting the interests and coverage rights of our global client base," the statement said.
SVT was given exclusive access to the wedding itself and imposed tight limits on allowing video of the vows to be distributed outside Sweden. The agencies argued that the wedding was a state event and should be treated as a news event - with access on reasonable and timely terms.
"The royal wedding does not fall into the category of sport or entertainment. It is an event of historical importance and coverage of it should not be made subject to restrictions and commercial charges more commonly associated with private, sponsor-controlled events of that nature," said Nicole Courtney-Leaver, an executive for Reuters, in a letter on behalf of the agencies to the royal court.
SVT barred the agencies from sending video to commercial channels around Europe and North America and told them they could make use of a brief segment for 48 hours only.
Victoria, 32, and Westling, 36, were exchanging vows in Stockholm Cathedral on the same date the princess's father King Carl XVI Gustaf wed Queen Silvia 34 years ago in front of nearly 1,000 royals and dignitaries from across the world.
The unlikely match began when the Swedish heir to the throne started working out at Westling's gym in Stockholm in 2000.
It was the first royal wedding in Europe since 2008, when Denmark's Prince Joachim wed Marie Cavallier of France.
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