Volusia County Circuit Judge Joseph Will granted a temporary injunction barring their release on the grounds that they are not newsworthy. The next day, the Sentinel made a public-records request for the pictures. In addition to the Herald and Tribune , the Los Angeles Times , Chicago Tribune and WFLA-Channel 8, a Tampa NBC affiliate, joined the Sentinel 's lawsuit to obtain access. The Sentinel , Times and Chicago Tribune are all owned by Tribune Co. of Chicago. The Sentinel also has received support from the Society of Professional Journalists, which is the nation's largest journalism association, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the First Amendment Foundation, The Associated Press Sports Editors, the St. Petersburg Times and two other Tribune newspapers, Newsday on Long Island, N.Y., and The Sun of Baltimore.
None is part of the lawsuit.
The newspaper said the inspection is needed to help resolve how Earnhardt died. I believe our role is to provide as much credible and independent information as possible about the deaths of Mr. Earnhardt and the other drivers. Several Florida legislators say they plan to introduce bills to prohibit release of autopsy photos. The Sentinel and it supporters argue that, under Florida public-records laws, the courts can't block access to the photos. This is all about checks and balances in our system.