In-mid November, The Associated Press declined to cover the Country Music Association Awards after the organizers attempted to place severe limits on the photos that the wire service could take and distribute of the event.
An AP photographer was not allowed into the awards event because of coronavirus limitations. So the CMA suggested that the AP license photos taken by CMA photographers. But the AP refused, since licensing normally involves a fee (which the CMA said would be waived) and because then the CMA, not the AP, would determine what was photographed and which photos would be available for licensing. 
The AP then proposed that it take screenshots of television coverage of the event, as it has for other awards show during the coronavirus pandemic. But the CMA wanted to bar the AP from taking or distributing any photos showing the socially-distanced audience of nominees of their guests, who were all unmasked.
The AP refused this condition, with AP Global Entertainment and Lifestyles Editor Anthony McCartney saying that “[b]y denying independent news organizations, including AP, access to take images of a publicly broadcast event, the CMA Awards is infringing upon the news media’s ability to tell the full story of the event.”
This is just the most recent example of an organization seeking to limit or control media coverage of a newsworthy events.
This has been a particular issue in sports. American courts have consistently held that “purposive” athletic events such as football and basketball games—with scores determined by objective measures such as touchdowns or goals—are not copyrightable. “Aesthetic” sports events that include artistic elements, such as ice skating and synchronized swimming, on the other hand, are copyrightable. Read more