Death and copyrights
November 6, 2008
Avid obituary readers in northeastern Pennsylvania might have seen double in the last few weeks. According to The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, that’s what happens when two newspapers obtain obituaries from the same online service. But according to The Scranton Times-Tribune, it’s “misappropriation, unfair competition, fraud, breach of contract and unjust enrichment.”
Those are some of the charges the Times-Tribune included in a seven-count lawsuit against the Times Leader, filed Wednesday, seeking $210,000 in damages. The T-T provided examples of 50 obituaries from the end of October it claims the TL copied directly into its Scranton-edition paper, “down to punctuation, structure and style,” according to the T-T. The newspaper contacted funeral home directors connected to the obituaries, who said they did not send any information to the TL nor request that obituaries run in the second paper.
“I’ve never seen such a vast and blatant example of plagiarism in my 40 years of journalism,” the T-T’s managing editor said.
The TL responded that the obituaries came directly from a Web site, Legacy.com, that both are affiliated with, which allows affiliates to copy and publish obituaries straight from the site. The newspaper’s lawyer said it was “unfortunate the Scranton Times is reacting to competition by initiating a lawsuit that has no merit.”
But it probably has caused Scranton residents to read their newspapers a little more closely.
Hat tip: Romenesko - Poynter Online
DANNY JACOBS, Legal Affairs Writer
Sphere: Related ContentLiving with less international news
July 23, 2008
A study on the changing newspaper industry released this week by the Project for Excellence in Journalism found that most papers today were cutting back significantly on not only the tangibles like staff and total pages, but that many were sacrificing international and national news for local and community news.
The Baltimore Sun and other major dailies announced such transformations this summer.
Not that covering more of where you live is a bad thing but is raises two questions with me. One, what’s going to happen to the little guys — those weekly or biweekly papers who used to be the sole champions of community coverage? Having interned for such a paper I know firsthand that those publications pride themselves on being the ones that parents scour to see their kid’s sports achievements in print or act as a platform for small town activists to voice their issues.
If the major dailies start horning in on the community coverage, what’s left for the smaller publications to call their own and justify their existence?
Another point of concern is this turning away from covering the global community. Being an American history buff, I of course have to point out the similarities between this notion and the isolationist 1920s when post-war fatigue and an increased focus on the material world were abruptly followed by the Great Depression in 1929 and World War II ten years later.
Now, I’m not trying to say that isolationism caused WWII, but in this day and age the world is much smaller and it helps to know what the guy on the other side of the pond thinks of you. Or at least have an idea of what they’re up to.
International news may not be as widely read as the sports section but it’s still a big part of what’s going on in our world today. Do you think it’s a newspaper’s duty to cover what’s going on in other countries, or to just print what’s popular with readers?
LIZ FARMER, Business Writer
Sphere: Related ContentWSJ becomes 50 cents more elite
July 18, 2008
Here’s something that might interest you, the dear and gentle readers of The Daily Record. While it’s true that most anything you could ever wish to know can be found in the pages of our fine daily, there is — on occasion — a topic of interest that falls just outside of our journalistic reach. It’s good to know that in such trying times, The Wall Street Journal is there to lend a hand.
That hand is about to become a tad more expensive. On July 28, the newsstand price for the paper will go from $1.50 to $2.
That’s likely no big deal to the readers of one of the world’s most prominent financial papers. Heck, it’s not even a big deal to lowly Web Specialists such as me. In my mind, the “big deal” about the price increase is what it might indicate about the paper’s changing money-making strategy. From Portfolio.com, via Editor & Publisher:
“Interestingly, the hike comes as the paper’s editors are being urged to think more about how they can use the front page to boost newsstand sales — not something that has traditionally been a major focus.”
I wonder about this. I have no clue what percentage of the Journal’s readers pick up their papers at newsstands and newspaper boxes, but I am curious how often an eye-catching front page inspires a passerby to make a purchase. Do big headlines and flashy artwork cause you to reach for your wallet?
JOE BACCHUS, Web Specialist
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