Trail Of The Tape

The story of Jason McElwain, the autistic high school basketball team manager who scored twenty points in four minutes in his team's last game of the season, continues to feature prominently on CBS News and other outlets. The "Early Show's" Harry Smith discussed McElwain this morning, and on the CBSNews.com homepage, McElwain's story had the top spot under the U.S. banner today.

According to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, the now-famous tape of McElwain's feat was shot by a student named Marcus Luciano, who volunteered to film basketball games as part of a class community service requirement. Luciano apparently did not ask for payment for the video, which first aired on a local affiliate on the day after the game. Once the story got out, other local stations, as well as national networks, also showed the tape. CBS News, according to correspondent Steve Hartman, got its copy from the school's basketball coach, who also did not ask for payment. "This was a positive news story and the school was anxious to tell it," he says.

CBS News has now decided to send Luciano a check for $500, according to "Evening News" executive producer Rome Hartman. "It seemed right that we should pay the kid for the use of the video. It was a wonderful bit of enterprise," says Hartman, who adds that the network had no obligation to pay Luciano. "It seemed like a nice gesture, given that we've used the video so much."

"Think of this guy as a freelance cameraman," he says. "That's what he was. He just didn't know he was."

Linda Mason, CBS News Senior Vice President, Standards and Special Projects, says the payment is not out of the ordinary, considering that the network buys amateur footage "all the time."

"I don't think the kid's out to make money," adds Hartman. "If he were he would have hired an agent."