Can a Tennessee public university make journalists agree to limits on how they use photos and video they take at football games?

Plain-English summary

In 2009, the Southeastern Conference issued a revised set of press credential policies. Member schools (including the University of Tennessee) adopted those policies, sometimes with additional terms. Media organizations that wanted to cover SEC games had to agree to the policies before getting credentials. The policies retained the news outlet's copyright in photos and video taken at the event, but limited the uses to which those photos and video could be put: news coverage and editorial use were permitted; commercial uses (especially uses that might create the impression of an SEC or member-institution endorsement) were restricted; reproduction on products, souvenirs, and clothing was prohibited; sale or sublicense was permitted only if the buyer was bound by the same restrictions, with the SEC and its members named as intended third-party beneficiaries.

Sen. Bo Watson asked three questions about whether a Tennessee public university like UT could lawfully impose those restrictions on the press. The AG's answer on each was yes, with careful unpacking.

Question 1: Can a public university restrict press use of material gained at a "public event"? The AG's answer turns on whether the athletic event is a "public event" in the legal sense Sen. Watson's question implies. The opinion says it is not. Attendance requires the purchase of a ticket and acceptance of terms; press attendance requires acceptance of the credential policies. UT and the SEC have legitimate copyright and trademark interests in the event itself (broadcast rights, team logos and uniforms, marks). Federal copyright law (17 U.S.C. § 202 et seq.), the federal Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 1114 and 1125), and the Tennessee Trade Mark Act of 2000 (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 47-25-501 to -518) all give rights-holders the ability to restrict commercial uses of their marks and the events they sponsor. Press credentials that condition access on respecting those rights are not unusual or illegal.

Question 2: Can a public university restrict a citizen's or media outlet's right to "manage its own copyrighted material"? The premise that the media outlet's rights to its own material are unlimited is wrong, the AG concluded. As a precondition for access to the event, members of the media must agree in advance to the credential policies. Under the policies, the news outlet still holds the copyright in its own photos and video, but its use is limited by the contract it entered to get credentials. The press outlet "may sell or relicense Bearer Generated Photographs" only if it imposes the same restrictions on the buyer or sublicensee. That is a valid contractual limit on the use of the outlet's own copyrighted material, voluntarily agreed to.

Question 3: Can a public university compel news media to license back, without consent, photos of the event to the SEC? The opinion concluded the policies do not actually do this for the bulk of media-generated images. The "name or likeness" provision (granting the SEC a license to use the bearer's name or likeness in media taken at events) applies only when the photographer or reporter themselves is captured in event coverage, not to all the photos the media outlet takes. So the SEC gets a grant-back only for images that contain the press person's own name or likeness, not for general game photos.

The AG identified the structural source of the university's authority: Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-9-209 vests broad governance powers in the UT Board of Trustees, including bylaws and regulations "for the government of the university and the promotion of education" (§ 49-9-209(e)(1)) and power to use and dispose of property "in such manner as to them shall seem most advantageous for the use of the university" (§ 49-9-209(b)(1)). The Tennessee Board of Regents has comparable powers over the Tennessee Board of Regents system (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 49-8-101, 202, 203). Within those plenary powers, adopting media credential policies is a normal exercise of institutional authority.

The opinion does not address First Amendment limits on press-access conditions in detail. That separate question (whether a public university could, for example, deny credentials based on viewpoint, or impose access conditions that effectively foreclose news coverage) is not addressed here. The opinion sticks to whether the credential policies are within the university's statutory authority, and answers yes.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2010. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

The legal landscape around sports-event media rights has continued to develop. The NIL (name, image, and likeness) revolution following NCAA v. Alston, 594 U.S. 69 (2021), has changed how student-athletes are treated under the law, with knock-on effects on event imagery. The Tennessee Higher Education FOCUS Act of 2016 dissolved the Tennessee Board of Regents' direct governance of the six former TBR universities, restructuring the governance landscape. The UT system's governance has also been adjusted. Anyone evaluating a current Tennessee press-credential question should look at the current statutory governance scheme and the current First Amendment / Lanham Act / Copyright Act case law.

Common questions

Q: Are SEC football games "public events" that anyone can photograph freely?
A: No, not in the legal sense. Attendance requires a ticket (sold subject to terms) and press access requires a credential (issued subject to terms). The AG concluded SEC athletic events are not "public events" of the kind that would give every attendee unrestricted rights to photograph and disseminate the event.

Q: Who owns the copyright in a photograph a newspaper photographer takes at an SEC game?
A: The photographer (or the newspaper that employs them) does, as a matter of federal copyright law. But under the press credential policies, the news outlet has contractually agreed to limit its own use of the photo. The credential is the entry point: by accepting credentials, the news outlet accepts the contractual restrictions.

Q: What can a newspaper do with photos taken at an SEC game?
A: Under the 2009 SEC policies, news coverage (print, broadcast, internet) is permitted. The photo can be used in connection with regular news coverage and posted on the news outlet's website. Commercial uses are restricted: no use to imply endorsement, no use on products, souvenirs, or clothing, no use in advertising or marketing. Resale or sublicense is permitted only if the buyer is bound by the same restrictions.

Q: Doesn't this violate the First Amendment?
A: The opinion does not directly address that question. It treats the credential policies as ordinary contracts the news outlets voluntarily agree to in exchange for access to a venue. There is a separate First Amendment question about how far a public university can restrict press access generally, but the opinion takes the position that requiring contractual agreement to copyright and trademark protections as a condition of access is not constitutionally problematic.

Q: What is the SEC's basis for asserting trademark and copyright rights in a game?
A: Federal copyright law (17 U.S.C. § 202 et seq.) gives copyright in the live broadcast and any fixed recordings. The federal Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 1114 and 1125) and the Tennessee Trade Mark Act of 2000 (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 47-25-501 to -518) protect the SEC's and member institutions' marks (team names, mascots, logos, uniform designs). Right-of-publicity law protects student-athletes' names and likenesses. The credential policies are a way to coordinate these various rights through a single contractual instrument.

Q: What if a press photographer is themselves photographed at the game?
A: The credential policies contain a "name or likeness" grant-back: if the press person's own name or likeness appears in an SEC-generated photograph or broadcast taken at the event, the press person grants the SEC a perpetual non-exclusive license to use that name or likeness. This is a standard provision in event-access contracts and is designed to spare the SEC the burden of separately tracking and clearing rights for every person who appears in event coverage.

Q: Does this affect spectators who take photos with their phones?
A: The credential policies do not apply to spectators who take photos for private use. The opinion notes that a spectator who takes photos for commercial purposes might be deemed a media person required to accept the credential policies before commercializing the images.

Q: Where does UT get the authority to impose these restrictions?
A: From Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-9-209, which vests broad governance powers in the UT Board of Trustees. The trustees can adopt bylaws and regulations for the "government of the university and the promotion of education" (§ 49-9-209(e)(1)). They can use and dispose of property "in such manner as to them shall seem most advantageous for the use of the university" (§ 49-9-209(b)(1)). Athletic events are part of university operations; press credentials are part of running those events.

Background and statutory framework

The credential framework. Press credentials are the contractual instrument by which a media organization accepts the venue's terms in exchange for access. The credential policies are typically structured as a contract: the bearer (the credentialed journalist and their employer) agrees to a long list of terms, including limits on use of images and video, indemnity provisions, conduct rules, and grant-backs of rights to the host. Members of the media who refuse to agree to these conditions are denied entry.

The SEC 2009 policies. The 2009 revision was a more elaborate set than prior versions. The key parts identified in the AG opinion:

• General-rights reservation. The SEC and its member institutions reserve all broadcast rights, copyrights, trademarks, and other proprietary rights to the event and to the names, mascots, logos, uniform designs, and trademarks of the conference and members.

• Limited rights granted to the bearer. The credential confers a "limited, non-exclusive and non-transferable right" to enter the venue and take "Bearer Generated Images" for news coverage or editorial purposes, subject to the policies.

• Usage restrictions. Bearer-generated images may not (i) be sold or licensed in a way that profits from a featured individual's name or likeness without SEC permission, (ii) imply association with the SEC or its members, (iii) be used with the SEC's or members' names or trademarks for endorsements, advertising, or marketing, (iv) be reproduced on products, souvenirs, or clothing, or (v) be used in a way likely to create confusion about sponsorship or affiliation.

• Resale-flow-through requirement. If the bearer sells or sublicenses bearer-generated photos, the buyer must be subject to the same restrictions, and the SEC and its members must be named as intended third-party beneficiaries with the right to enforce directly against the sublicensee.

• Name or likeness grant-back. If the bearer's own name or likeness appears in any broadcast, photograph, etc., taken in connection with the event, the bearer grants the SEC a perpetual non-exclusive license to use that name or likeness.

• General-conduct, indemnity, and assumption-of-risk provisions. Standard event-access contract terms.

The federal IP framework. The opinion identifies three relevant federal IP doctrines that legitimately allow restrictions on the use of event imagery:

• Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 202 et seq. Copyright vests in the author of an original fixed work. A media outlet has copyright in its own photos, but the SEC and member institutions have copyright in their broadcast feeds and any fixed reproductions they create.

• Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1114 and 1125. Federal trademark law gives rights-holders the ability to prevent uses that cause consumer confusion about source, sponsorship, or affiliation. The SEC's trademark portfolio (team marks, conference marks, uniform designs) is protected against confusing commercial uses.

• Right of publicity. State law in many jurisdictions, including Tennessee, protects an individual's right to control commercial uses of their name and likeness. Student-athletes' rights of publicity are part of the framework the credential policies coordinate.

The Tennessee state-law framework.

• Tennessee Trade Mark Act of 2000, Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 47-25-501 to -518. The Tennessee analog to the federal Lanham Act for marks registered in Tennessee.

• UT governance, Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-9-209. The Tennessee General Assembly has vested governance authority over UT in a Board of Trustees. The Trustees can "make bylaws, rules and regulations for the government of the university and the promotion of education in the university that in their opinion may be expedient or necessary" (§ 49-9-209(e)(1)). They have authority over UT property and may use it "in such manner as to them shall seem most advantageous for the use of the university" (§ 49-9-209(b)(1)). Op. Tenn. Att'y Gen. No. 94-106 (September 9, 1994) discusses these broad powers.

• Tennessee Board of Regents governance, Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 49-8-101, 202, 203. Similar plenary authority is vested in the TBR over the State University and Community College System. (Note: TBR governance has been substantially restructured since 2016 under the Higher Education FOCUS Act; the 2010 framework no longer reflects current law for the six former TBR universities.)

The structural conclusion. Within the plenary statutory authority of UT's Board of Trustees and the TBR, adopting press credential policies is a normal exercise of institutional governance. The AG concluded the credential restrictions are "neither unusual nor illegal."

Citations and references

Statutes:

• Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-9-209 (UT Board of Trustees governance)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-9-209(b)(1) (UT property powers)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-9-209(e)(1) (UT bylaws/regulations powers)
• Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 49-8-101, 202, 203 (Tennessee Board of Regents)
• Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 47-25-501 to -518 (Tennessee Trade Mark Act of 2000)
• 15 U.S.C. § 1114 (Lanham Act)
• 15 U.S.C. § 1125 (Lanham Act)
• 17 U.S.C. § 202 et seq. (federal Copyright Act)

Related Tennessee AG opinions:

• Op. Tenn. Att'y Gen. No. 94-106 (September 9, 1994)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2010/op10-060.pdf

Original opinion text

April 29, 2010

Opinion No. 10-60

Media Credential Policies Adopted by State Universities

QUESTIONS

1. May a public institution of higher education, supported by taxes paid by citizens of Tennessee, give approval to an agreement that would restrict the rights of the press and public to use material that is gained at a public event for public dissemination?

2. May a public institution of higher education, supported by taxes paid by citizens of Tennessee, give approval to an agreement that would restrict the rights of a citizen (including the media) from managing its own copyrighted material?

3. Similarly, may a public institution of higher education, supported by taxes paid by citizens of Tennessee, give approval to an agreement that would compel news media to provide a college athletic conference the right to use, without the media's consent, photographs of a sporting event taken by the media?

OPINIONS

1. Yes. A Tennessee public institution of higher education may take any legal measures that are intended to protect its rights under copyright law to photographs or other visual representations arising from athletic events involving its athletic teams. These events are not "public events." A member of the press must agree to the terms and conditions of the press credential policies in order to gain admittance and take photographs or video images of the event. The press credential policy of UT reserves the rights of UT and the SEC to images from athletic events in a variety of ways, and thereby limits the use and dissemination of photographs, video, and other representations, based upon copyright law, trademark law, and other legal principles.

2. Yes. Although this question assumes that a media outlet such as a newspaper "owns" and holds the copyright to all images originating at an athletic event without restriction, this is not the case. In order to obtain press credentials and access to the event, a media outlet must agree to certain restrictions on the use and dissemination of photographs, video, etc., that are taken at the event. Pursuant to this agreement, a media outlet retains certain rights in images taken during the event, but must observe restrictions on those images, as well as on the manner in which they are disseminated.

3. Yes. The credential policies acknowledge that the copyright in photographs taken at an event is retained by the media organization responsible for taking the photographs. The credential policies do, however, impose certain restrictions upon the use of such photographs. The UT press credential policies do not provide that news media are compelled "... to provide the SEC the right to use, without the media's consent, photographs of a sporting event taken by the media," although one provision of the credential policies provides that any image of the name or likeness of a member of the media that is included in an image taken at a UT athletic event may be used by UT and/or the SEC without restriction.

ANALYSIS

Your questions concern the restrictions that are placed upon the news media, and others, pursuant to the media credential policies adopted by schools such as the University of Tennessee (UT) and other members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The credential policies adopted by UT and other SEC schools establish ownership rights and usage restrictions upon photographs and video originating at UT athletic events. A member of the press must agree to the terms and conditions of the press credential policies in order to gain admittance and take photographs or video images of the event. The press credential policies of UT reserve the rights of UT and the SEC to images from athletic events in a variety of ways, and thereby limits the use and dissemination of photographs, video, and other representations, based upon copyright law, trademark law, and other legal principles.

According to information provided by UT, the basic credential policies adopted by SEC member institutions originate from the SEC and represent a "minimum" set of policies. Member institutions may then adopt supplemental policies in addition to the SEC standard policies. Consequently, press credential policies of SEC member institutions vary from school to school. In 2009, the SEC issued a revised set of press credential policies. It appears that the adoption of these revised policies has prompted your questions.

1. The UT media credential policies do indeed restrict the right to use images that are made at athletic events. The primary portions of the credential policies that apply to photographs are as follows:

Media – General

Except for video (including any accompanying news audio) and still photographs of the Event shot by Bearer in compliance with the requirements and restrictions of this Credential (herein referred to as "Bearer Generated Video" and "Bearer Generated Photographs," or collectively as "Bearer Generated Images") and news stories written and broadcast by Bearer, to which the copyright vests in Bearer, Bearer acknowledges that all broadcast rights, copyrights, trademarks, and other proprietary rights to the Event, and to the respective names, mascots, logos, uniform designs, and trademarks of the Southeastern Conference and its member institutions are exclusively owned and/or licensed by the Southeastern Conference, its member institutions, and/or third parties with which the Conference or its members have agreements.

Video, film, photographs and other images of an Event (including Bearer Generated Images) may be used, broadcast, sold, licensed or distributed by Bearer only as expressly permitted herein. In addition, for avoidance of doubt, except as permitted herein, Bearer is prohibited from making available any video, film, photograph or other image of an Event (including Bearer Generated Images) to any organization, person or entity without advance written permission from the SEC, even though the planned use may be news or editorial in nature.

Bearer acknowledges that all trademark rights in the names, logos, trademarks, mascots, and uniform designs of the Conference and of the member institutions of the Conference are retained by the Conference and its members. Except for permitted use of broadcast feeds strictly in conformity herewith, nothing in these terms and conditions authorizes or allows Bearer to use any of the trademarks, copyrights or other proprietary or intellectual property rights of the SEC or of its member institutions.

Bearer Generated Images

The Credential confers on Bearer a limited, non-exclusive and non-transferable right to enter the Event venue or stadium to take Bearer Generated Images of the Event and to use, license, and sublicense such Bearer Generated Images only for news coverage or editorial purposes subject to the limitations and provisions herein, or as otherwise specifically authorized herein; provided, however, if required by the SEC or by the member hosting an Event, and if a broadcast feed of the Event via video and audio distributing facilities is provided by the SEC or its member institution, Bearer shall not take any Bearer Generated Video of the Event and shall use only such feed pursuant to and in conformity with the provisions hereof concerning broadcast feeds.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Credential, absent the express written permission or authorization of the SEC (with respect to Bearer Generated Video) or the express written permission or authorization of all SEC member institutions that appear in a photograph, and whose present or former coaches and student athletes appear in a photograph (with respect to Bearer Generated Photographs): (i) Bearer may not sell or license any Bearer Generated Image that features an individual and is licensed, sold or used to profit from the name or likeness of the individual, (ii) this Credential in no respect licenses or conveys to Bearer any rights of publicity, trademark rights, or right to imply an association by Bearer with the Conference or with any of its members or their present or former coaches or student athletes; (iii) except for references by name to the SEC and its member institutions in television news broadcasts, preview shows, and special shows as otherwise permitted herein, Bearer Generated Images may not be licensed, sold or used in connection with the name or trademark of the SEC or any of its member institutions, or for or in connection with the name or trademark of the SEC or any of its member institutions, or for or in connection with endorsements, advertising, or marketing of a product, service, company, or business, (iv) Bearer Generated Images may not be reproduced on products, souvenirs, or clothing, and (v) Bearer Generated Images may not be used in a manner likely to create or that actually creates confusion in the minds of the trade or public that Bearer or its Bearer Generated Images or any elements therein, or any items on which they are reprinted, are sponsored or endorsed by, or are associated or affiliated with the SEC, its member institutions, or their present or former student-athletes or coaches, or that any of such persons or entities licensed Bearer to use their images, trademarks or copyrights.

Bearer Generated Photographs

Bearer Generated Photographs may be used (and posted on the internet) in connection with and as part of regular print news coverage, including internet print news coverage. In addition, provided that Bearer complies with the other provisions and restrictions in this Credential (including but not limited to the provisions and restrictions set forth in the preceding section entitled "Bearer Generated Images") and that Bearer imposes upon and subjects the buyer or licensee to all such provisions and restrictions (as if the buyer or licensee had taken the photograph), Bearer may sell or relicense Bearer Generated Photographs. (Bearer is not restricted or prohibited from imposing additional restrictions, including withholding any and all rights from the buyer or licensee with respect to the Bearer Generated Photograph.) In any such sublicense, so that the SEC may pursue its rights against the licensee and will not be required to pursue Bearer, Bearer shall ensure that the SEC and its member institutions are named as intended third party beneficiaries with the right directly to enforce the requirements and provisions of this Credential against the sublicensee.

These policies apply to the press and other media persons or entities that come to the event, request media credentials, and by accepting those credentials, agree to the terms and conditions contained in the credential policies. The credential policies do not apply to spectators and "members of the public" who attend the athletic events, and who may take photographs or video images for private use. However, where spectators attend events and attempt to take photographs or images for a commercial purpose, the person creating such images may be deemed a member of the media who is required to accept the credential policies of UT and the SEC before making commercial use of such images. Nor, strictly speaking, are SEC athletic events at UT "public events." On the contrary, attendance requires the purchase of a ticket, and such attendance requires acceptance of certain terms and conditions regarding such matters as behavior and conduct.

While the above-quoted provisions of the credential policies are somewhat lengthy and couched in legalese, the essential restrictions imposed upon photographs generated by members of the press concern commercial uses that might be interpreted as conveying the endorsement of some product or entity by the SEC, UT, or some member of the athletic teams or staff of UT athletic teams. Under the sub-heading "Bearer Generated Images," small roman numerals (i) through (v) address these concerns, with small roman numeral (v) setting forth what may be considered the primary concern with the potential commercial uses of images acquired at athletic events; i.e., images may not be used in a manner likely to create the false impression that some item or product is endorsed by or associated with the SEC, UT, or any member of any SEC athletic team or athletic staff.

These restrictions are consistent with protections afforded under the federal Lanham Act (see 15 U.S.C. §§ 1114 and 1125) for holders of trademarks, as well as corresponding protections under the state Tennessee Trade Mark Act of 2000 (see Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 47-25-501 - 518). Legal protections such as those set forth in trademark laws and copyright law (see 17 U.S.C. § 202, et seq.) are, by their very nature, restrictive. These laws operate by reserving rights in a person or entity and prohibiting the infringement upon those rights by all others unless through some license or other legal arrangement. Consequently, the restrictions set forth in the credential policies at issue here are neither unusual nor illegal.

2. With regard to your second question, it is again important to initially define the terms we are employing. While this question refers to a citizen's or a media outlet's right to "manage its own copyrighted material," this appears to assume that a media outlet's rights to its own material (presumably photographs or video taken at an SEC/UT athletic event) are unlimited. As already discussed, however, as a condition for access to the event, members of the media must agree in advance to the credential policies for the event. The initial provisions of the credential policies state as follows:

[Standard general terms, conduct, indemnity, assumption-of-risk, name-or-likeness grant-back, and indemnification provisions follow, as reproduced in the credential policies.]

These policies place explicit limits upon the uses made of images derived from the athletic event. Members of the media who refuse to agree to these conditions are denied entry to the event.

3. Your third question asks whether a State university may "compel news media to provide a college athletic conference the right to use, without the media's consent, photographs of a sporting event taken by the media." This question appears to refer to the following portion of the media credential policies quoted above:

In the event that the name or likeness of Bearer is included in any broadcast, telecast, photograph, film, video or other media taken in connection with any Event, Bearer grants the SEC (or, if the media is controlled by a SEC member, grants such SEC member) the non-exclusive, transferable, perpetual right and license to use (and to sub-license the use of) such name and likeness in any media worldwide whether now known or thereafter devised.

This provision appears to refer to video broadcast or photographic images that contain "the name or likeness" of a member of the media, such as an individual reporter or photographer, or the name of a specific newspaper or television station. In such cases, this provision obviates the need on the part of the SEC or a member institution to secure an additional release before broadcasting the video images or using the photographs in some way.

Other previously-quoted portions of the credential policies, however, acknowledge the rights of the members of the media to use their own photographs:

Bearer Generated Photographs may be used (and posted on the internet) in connection with and as part of regular print news coverage, including internet print news coverage. In addition, provided that Bearer complies with the other provisions and restrictions in this Credential (including but not limited to the provisions and restrictions set forth in the preceding section entitled "Bearer Generated Images") and that Bearer imposes upon and subjects the buyer or licensee to all such provisions and restrictions (as if the buyer or licensee had taken the photograph), Bearer may sell or relicense Bearer Generated Photographs.

As discussed above, while members of the media may prefer not to agree to the terms and conditions set forth in the credential policies, agreement is required before entry into the athletic event. Members of the media may therefore feel "compelled" to agree to the terms of the policies, but the provisions of the credential policies are designed to protect the interests of the SEC, the member institutions, and the players and coaches who are involved in the athletic event.

The authority of a state educational institution, such as UT, to place such terms and conditions upon media access to athletic events derives from state law. The Tennessee General Assembly has vested governing authority over the operations of the University of Tennessee in a board of trustees. Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-9-209. These powers are broadly defined. The powers of the UT board of trustees include the authority to "make bylaws, rules and regulations for the government of the university and the promotion of education in the university that in their opinion may be expedient or necessary." Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-9-209(e)(1). The trustees are further empowered to purchase, receive, hold, use and dispose of "lands, tenements, goods or chattels, in such manner as to them shall seem most advantageous for the use of the university." Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-9-209(b)(1). In light of these plenary powers vested in the university and its trustees, it is clear that the adoption of media credential policies such as those at issue in this opinion is well within the authority of the trustees.

[Footnote 1: The credential policies also contain provisions regarding video images, broadcast feeds, internet use, media pooling arrangements, blogging, and additional general provisions.]

[Footnote 2: See generally Op. Tenn. Att'y Gen. No. 94-106 (September 9, 1994).]

[Footnote 3: The Tennessee Board of Regents is vested with comparable powers over the operations and maintenance of the State University and Community College System. See e.g. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 49-8-101, 202, and 203.]

ROBERT E. COOPER, JR.
Attorney General and Reporter

GINA J. BARHAM
Deputy Attorney General

KEVIN STEILING
Deputy Attorney General

Requested by:

The Honorable Bo Watson
State Senator
6A Legislative Plaza
Nashville, TN 37243-0211