Bournemouth’s Daily Echo became the latest newspaper to find its own solution to the ban on press photographers at Southampton Football Club – by publishing match photos from the 1980s.

Editor Neal Butterworth decided to print photos of the last time the Bournemouth and Southampton teams met, in 1987, rather than pay for images from last night’s Carling Cup match.

He is the latest newspaper editor to defy the ban on newspaper photographers brought in by Southampton last week, which has caused outcry among the regional and national press.

The club says it has brought in the move so it can sell images taken by its own professional photographers to ‘protect the club’s commercial revenues’.

Neal told HTFP the idea of using 1980s photos came from his sports editor, after Plymouth’s Herald commissioned cartoons for its team’s game against Southampton.

He said: “We saw the great idea from Plymouth with the cartoons so we thought we wanted to do something different as well.

“There was no way we were going to pay the club for pictures. We said we would dig out some old pictures.

“1987 was the last time they had a match together. We just thought wouldn’t it be great to dig out some old black and white photos.

“I think it is a ridiculous situation. I can understand why any football club or business wants to make money from people like ourselves who potentially make money out of them but it is a poor way of doing it.

“It is quite clear nobody is going to give up on this and start paying Southampton. Mr Cortese, Southampton’s executive chairman, has very strong views on this and has made it very clear he is not going to back down.”

The paper’s sports editor Neil Meldrum is a lifelong Southampton fan but he has strongly criticised the club’s move in a comment piece.

He writes: “Mr Cortese clearly thinks his club will make a buck or two by syndicating pictures taken by their own man. I’ve got news for you, Nicola: You won’t.

“If newspapers hate one thing, it is the greed of people like you and we press people tend to stick together in defiance of arrogance.

“Yes, the Echo has let its readers down today by not printing pictures of last night’s match. But we will not be held to ransom by the likes of Nicola Cortese.”

Comments

Meldrew (11/08/2010 10:41:57)
When Southampton’s sponsors, particularly the shirt sponsors, realise that they are getting no exposure other than inside the ground, I think the club will be forced to reverse this ridiculous stance

Hackensacked (11/08/2010 10:52:42)
Meldrew: Southampton don’t have a shirt sponsor this season – it’s the club’s 125th anniversary year and they have a retro shirt that reflects the original kit… and no sponsor. The club’s owner Markus Liebherr is a multi-billionaire and doesn’t actually need the money – hence the ‘original’, no adverts, shirt.
So while the stance is undoubtedly an unwise one, it isn’t going to be pressure from the sponsors that changes the club’s mind.

Dave (11/08/2010 10:54:45)
I’ll repeat my comment under yesterday’s story – why isn’t HTFP publishing the cartoons when they are being uploaded elsewhere on the interet and were on the TV news this morning!!!

Hot Metal (11/08/2010 11:07:47)
Southampton…. the name rings a bell. Remind me. In League One now aren’t they?

Onlooker (11/08/2010 11:20:44)
Accepting the point about photos being free publicity for clubs, I repeat what I said yesterday: Why do newspapers think they have the right to source material without payinf for it? Newspapers are commercial enterprises, after all.

Paul (11/08/2010 12:25:01)
Hackensacked, if the owner doesn’t need the money, then why is he trying to make money out of this whole sorry episode?

snapper (11/08/2010 13:03:16)
@Onlooker
Newspapers don’t believe they have any such rights. The arrangement is known informally as a contra-deal. In exchange for allowing newspaper snappers onto their private premises, the club gets its photographs appearing in print entirely free of charge. This helps sustain the fan base for the club and in turn underpins its commercial viability and at the same time it helps the newspaper sell papers which under pins ITS commercial viability. Simples.

Oldhackandproud (11/08/2010 13:40:02)
Onlooker. Funny, I thought football matches were news.England winning the World Cup was news, England fouling up in it was news. Winning a test match is news. Winning Olympic gold is news etc etc etc…So let’s pay for it all!!

Hackensacked (11/08/2010 15:47:05)
Paul, I suspect that it has more to do with Nicola Cortese’s (Liebherr’s chief executive, who runs the club on his behalf) ongoing spat with the Southampton Echo, rather than making any money.
Not that that makes it any less of a dumb decision – and I say that as a lifelong Southampton supporter.

snapper (12/08/2010 08:07:47)
Are Southampton FC expecting their club photographers to be allowed into away games for free?

Ken (12/08/2010 09:15:08)
Keep up with the news, people. Mr Liebherr died yesterday.

Hackensacked (12/08/2010 10:59:00)
Ken, not sure I quite understand your comment – apart from Snapper’s post just above yours, all the other posts here were made some time before the sad news about Markus Liebherr.