Their readership will drop to 17...

there will be no more links to AP stories in front page articles at LGF.

Its about time we had some good news in here.

That doesn't make sense. When people link to and quote them, they get more traffic. I thought traffic was the only reason for existence . . .

Good move! Both they and Reuters need to go!

there will be no more links to AP stories in front page articles at LGF.

Yeah, AP is on par with "Crazy" Larry Johnson.

I thought they reversed that decision.

Hopefully Reuters will soon make this same decision.

It isn't exactly like they ever have anything that AFP and Reuters don't have too.

Yeah!

Methinks the ap doth protest too much.

So all they'll have reading their stories are those who read the MSM, which means fewer and fewer until they go out of business.

Problem is, AP is actually basically an association of all the newspapers in the US.

AP does have some of their own staff writers, but the bulk of their material is simply stories originally published in a local paper and then "picked up" for nationwide distribution.

Could become problematic, because something that may not seem like an AP story at first may become an AP story shortly thereafter.

re: #6 Beobachter

I thought they reversed that decision.

Apparently not.

Not a bad idea, but kind of difficult to carry out, since the Associated Press is literally everywhere, and many news sites often use sections of AP articles combined with their own reporting.

That's what I was thinking...

How can you post anything "news-worthy" without linking to AP?

re: #13 Charles

Apparently not.

I stand corrected, then.

Laura Ingrams new show is good (though stiff, first day and all). On Fox. Next story... putting captured illegal aliens in jail. Her first question to her guests..."I can't believe this is controversial...."

I heart Laura.

They're still "AssPress", right?

Rush mentioned AP's threat today also. This was after raking them over the coals for other stuff. I think he leaned heavily on LGF today....

What a loss...

Not (except for the unintended "humor" of some of their headlines)

re: #12 zombie

Problem is, AP is actually basically an association of all the newspapers in the US.

AP does have some of their own staff writers, but the bulk of their material is simply stories originally published in a local paper and then "picked up" for nationwide distribution.

Could become problematic, because something that may not seem like an AP story at first may become an AP story shortly thereafter.

Right, it's a boycott without too many teeth. But still, the bad publicity is all good. Heh.

Someone better tell Storagemanager. He/she links a bunch!

The AP is something that would be very hard to boycott. In essence, you would be required to never read (or purchase) a newspaper (not a big deal) and probably not watch TV news. Most big news sites are probably off limits too. So, you must use the other news feeds (e.g. Reuters) to get the basics and then rely on blogs for analysis (assuming you can't do that yourself and that Reuters (or whoever) provides none).

The good old strategy of litigation- if you can't get your critics to shut up, just sue them.

I raise my cup in support.

Let me fix that for you;

re: #7 Alouette Hopefully Reuters al-Reuters will soon make this same decision.

There... that's better.

re: #12 zombie

Could become problematic, because something that may not seem like an AP story at first may become an AP story shortly thereafter.

Yeah after they wring the real truth out of it, twist it like a pretzel, tweak it , step on it, powder coat it and throw in some cute catch-words...than it becomes an AP story.

Good.

The Dinosaur Media self destructs....Slowly, but surely.

Bring on the acronym humor...

I imagine that if it was the government being heavy handed towards the press like this, we'd hear cries of "fascist!", but since it's the press being heavy handed, then it's okay. Hypocrites.

That's quite a declaration by Mr Johnson. I don't see any comments about how deep that is, not that I could make them. I can guess: 1) CJ has confidence he can pull this off, 2) CJ is confident that he does not need the AP: alternative media is mature enough to ignore them.

Allah AP! Allah AP!

Ooooh, check out this interesting Momail that I got recently:

----------------------------
From: abi a.
Subject: ISLAM - A RELIGION OF SATAN

I want to commend you on such an excellent website. I am a female who turned away from Islam a few years ago, and I cannot put into words the kind of fear, and hate the religion has for women. Its a very masculine religion, and I believe we must all join hands and pray for the irradication and destruction of this brainwashing religion.

Islam is not a religion of peace but that of satan and muslims need to wake up from the nightmare they are in.

----------------------------

Wow!

re: #12 zombie

Problem is, AP is actually basically an association of all the newspapers in the US.

AP does have some of their own staff writers, but the bulk of their material is simply stories originally published in a local paper and then "picked up" for nationwide distribution.

Could become problematic, because something that may not seem like an AP story at first may become an AP story shortly thereafter.

So how can they claim propriety over material that originates elsewhere?

re: #31 brandnew

That's quite a declaration by Mr Johnson. I don't see any comments about how deep that is, not that I could make them. I can guess: 1) CJ has confidence he can pull this off, 2) CJ is confident that he does not need the AP: alternative media is mature enough to ignore them.

Almost every story published by the AP has an equivalent from some other source - Reuters, AFP, or a local paper.

re: #21 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Someone better tell Storagemanager. He/she links a bunch!

I don't think that's going to be a problem.

/at least not here

The world has truly changed when the audience can conduct a serious action against the news providers. It makes not one whit of difference to us but unfortunately, for AP, they think they're still the only game in town. Legacy media.

re: #29 Silhouette

Bring on the acronym humor...

W.W.C.D. ?

re: #35 Charles

Almost every story published by the AP has an equivalent from some other source - Reuters, AFP, or a local paper.

Charles, do they quote or just paraphrase each other?
/

File this under: Telegraphing your punches?

"Iran, fearing sanctions, said to have pulled $75b from EU banks"

Boy do them Europeans know how to run a boycott or what?

[Link: www.haaretz.com...]

Check out all the trackbacks to that Techcrunch article - there are a lot of people upset about the AP's hamfisted tactics.

AP: Absolutely Pathetic

re: #33 zombie

Ooooh, check out this interesting Momail that I got recently:

----------------------------
From: abi a.
Subject: ISLAM - A RELIGION OF SATAN

I want to commend you on such an excellent website. I am a female who turned away from Islam a few years ago, and I cannot put into words the kind of fear, and hate the religion has for women. Its a very masculine religion, and I believe we must all join hands and pray for the irradication and destruction of this brainwashing religion.

Islam is not a religion of peace but that of satan and muslims need to wake up from the nightmare they are in.

----------------------------

Wow!

This is why my heads meets the desk every time I read about feminists defending Islam. Some things just defy logic.

re: #31 brandnew

That's quite a declaration by Mr Johnson. I don't see any comments about how deep that is, not that I could make them. I can guess: 1) CJ has confidence he can pull this off, 2) CJ is confident that he does not need the AP: alternative media is mature enough to ignore them.

I've seen several articles in my life that use snippets to paragraphs of AP articles, word for word, without crediting AP. Basically, nothing they print is unique.

re: #34 Russkilitlover

So how can they claim propriety over material that originates elsewhere?

Some of it is explained here.

re: #35 Charles

Almost every story published by the AP has an equivalent from some other source - Reuters, AFP, or a local paper.

It's really not fair of you to be so critical of these sources on which you are so dependent.

/Cognito's not here yet?

#36 Killian Bundy
Oh, so that's why I haven't seen him posting lately.

re: #35 Charles

Almost every story published by the AP has an equivalent from some other source - Reuters, AFP, or a local paper.

Exactly: Garbage in, Garbage Out.

re: #43 angst

This is why my heads meets the desk every time I read about feminists defending Islam. Some things just defy logic.

It is easy to defend something you know absolutely nothing about but think you know everything about because you heard it on the news.

Oh, well, I was going to link to an AP story about Palifighter/gunman who were "planting" explosives on the Gaza/Israel border. I guess they are farmers now; that is why they don't call them terrorists or murderers

Blogs dont' pay for AP articles, etc. So how does this hurt AP exactly?

IIRC this is exactly what the AP wanted from the blogs. They will still get their money and coverage from the MSM, so they will now just have an unchallenged ability to do what they do (just like they used to before the honest eye of the blog) without all the oversight.

I am probably missing someting, but I don't think this is going to have the affect y'all think it is.

AP institutes Sharia.

re: #49 rightwinger3

It is easy to defend something you know absolutely nothing about but think you know everything about because you heard it on the news.

they defend it by saying it is "their" culture. Things these women would never put up with - they claim we should allow other women to suffer because it is "their" culture.

re: #45 zombie

Oh, so it's the news biz's version of the Hollywood writers' strike? Losing money? Blame the Internet.

AP should be very careful about taking their little ball and going home.

There are plenty of other biased organizations of journalice out there making up and spinning news to fit a left-wing socialist Utopian agenda.

re: #46 wrenchwench

It's really not fair of you to be so critical of these sources on which you are so dependent.

/Cognito's not here yet?

W.W.C.D. ?

There is a tremendous assault on the Free Use clauses going on that is truly disturbing.

Good move Charles. AP is being an a%$ here

re: #58 Globular Cluster

err, Fair Use

Let em' sweat it out.
If the articles really do originate elsewhere, just do the homework and find the original. That's if it exists in electronic linkable form.

I'll huff and I'll puff etc...

--

re: #33 zombie

Cool, short and sweet and to the point!

re: #35 Charles

Almost every story published by the AP has an equivalent from some other source - Reuters, AFP, or a local paper.

GASP!
You'd actually link to AFP?
*barf*

/s

But I’ll gladly join this movement; until the AP climbs down from this caveman approach, there will be no more links to AP stories in front page articles at LGF.

But isn't this what the AP wants you to do? Seems like this "movement" is merely playing into the AP's hands. I'd recommend violating it and defending under Fair Use.

From an ap statement:

The Associated Press encourages the engagement of bloggers — large and small — in the news conversation of the day. Some of the largest blogs are licensed to display AP stories in full on a regular basis. We genuinely value and encourage referring links to our coverage, and even offer RSS feeds from [Link: www.ap.org,...] as do many of our licensed customers.

Is that what they're really after? They want bloggers to pay a license fee to link their stories?

IBA is joining the ban.

I've made a new policy on how to use AP source-material from now.

It might help other bloggers who want to join the ban:

[Link: ibloga.blogspot.com...]

Clinton's campaign manager has been hired by Obama to be chief of staff of the VP nominee.

IIRC, US copyright law allows fair use of AP's material when one is using the material to comment on how AP is reporting a given issue. I will look into it, but I think Charles is safe when making an "Associated (with terrorists) criticism".

Not much AP material is posted here without comment on the source as much as on the content, which, given the influence that AP has on opinion formation, should be protected under fair use.

re: #51 WrathofG-d

Blogs dont' pay for AP articles, etc. So how does this hurt AP exactly?

At the end of the next fiscal quarter, when the AP looks at their skyrocketing legal fees, they may change their opinion. Bloggers send traffic to AP sites. I guess the AP would prefer less traffic and higher legal fees.

re: #49 rightwinger3

It is easy to defend something you know absolutely nothing about but think you know everything about because you heard it on the news.

Well, the scary part is how many people there are who are just like that. I have time to sift through the news and look for the real story, but a lot of people don't, and all they're going to get is the MSM.

re: #66 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Probably as translator.

re: #68 EC Marm

So you are saying that when blogs send "eyes" to their linked page it gets ad revenue to the AP & thus they actually do get $$ from blogs?

interesting. Didn't think of that.

But wasn't the 1st post about this how they (AP) wanted the blogs to stop linking to them. They were making it harder or something.

re: #64 Sharmuta

From an ap statement:

Is that what they're really after? They want bloggers to pay a license fee to link their stories?

Sharmuta, I don't think so. I read that as some big bloggers pay a license to have get the whole story on the blog vice a link and/or small quote.

It works like this - when one provider does enough to lose your business, GO TO ANOTHER SUPPLIER of like stuff. And as long as there is some form of competition, it is probably a smart thing to do.

-S-

4 A.M knock on the door:
" Who is it ? "

AP Enforcement Bureau.

[Link: news.bbc.co.uk...]

Sue AP, for the hate crime of BLOGOPHOBIA!
.

re: #69 angst

Well, the scary part is how many people there are who are just like that. I have time to sift through the news and look for the real story, but a lot of people don't, and all they're going to get is the MSM.

Pretty unreal, especially in the internet era, isn't it?

re: #76 rightwinger3

Yes. But it makes for fun times at my book club.

re: #66 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Clinton's campaign manager has been hired by Obama to be chief of staff of the VP nominee.

What's Hillary been doin'?

re: #51 WrathofG-d

It will put a dent in their advertisement revenue. Every look at a page generates a hit for the ads displayed. The penny pincher's will be dismayed.

re: #71 WrathofG-d

So you are saying that when blogs send "eyes" to their linked page it gets ad revenue to the AP & thus they actually do get $$ from blogs?

Yup, they may think it is small change. Maybe it is. They'll find out.

But wasn't the 1st post about this how they (AP) wanted the blogs to stop linking to them. They were making it harder or something.

IMO, a threat of legal action delivered to some blogger will certainly cause that blogger to never link to an AP story again.

re: #81 buzzsawmonkey

Here's a link to the complaint.

Charles, just for clarification, what if it is a story at a news site, e.g. Fox, and it carries the disclaimer, "The AP contributed to this report?"

re: #12 zombie

Problem is, AP is actually basically an association of all the newspapers in the US.

AP does have some of their own staff writers, but the bulk of their material is simply stories originally published in a local paper and then "picked up" for nationwide distribution.

Could become problematic, because something that may not seem like an AP story at first may become an AP story shortly thereafter.

If the link goes to the original source, your local daily for instance, AP should have no say in that.

Or is that one of the things they're "cracking down" on?

re: #79 Electron Shuffler

It will put a dent in their advertisement revenue. Every look at a page generates a hit for the ads displayed. The penny pincher's will be dismayed.

I went to Chili's because they kept advertising their all-you-can-eat lunch special here and other blogs. ;)

re: #83 angst

Charles, just for clarification, what if it is a story at a news site, e.g. Fox, and it carries the disclaimer, "The AP contributed to this report?"

The AP will have to create and staff an entire department to send out all the "cease and desist" letters.

re: #81 buzzsawmonkey
Do you have some free legal advice to a blogger with shallow pockets? :~(

just askin' but isn't a boycott accomplishing exactly what they want?

re: #64 Sharmuta

They are / have lost credibility. Like the rest of the legacy print media, they are losing revenues. New media is bypassing them. So, in their mindset, they are taking action to stop providing 'assistance' to the new media as a 'protective' gesture.

It's typical knee jerk reaction to new media that has been done without success since the mid-1990's and the internet first started to threaten print media.

I expect that at some point in the near future, the AP will start to target some (ie conservative) elements of new media for violation of far use laws and demanding compensation for the unauthorized use of their content.

re: #81 buzzsawmonkey

If AP claims fair use protection to quote someone or something when it reports the news--as it surely does--it can hardly claim its own rights are being violated when its reportage is commented upon.

Some blanket copyright suits are legitimate, such as the RIAA's suits against file-sharers music thieves. Despite the outrage that these suits caused among many, the persons sued had in fact copied and distributed many, many works very widely without permission of the copyright holders, thereby harming the copyright holders.

The AP's threatened suits, however, are directed not against copying, but, apparently, against mere linking and excerpt-quoting--both of which fall well within traditional fair use, and do so all the more so now that fair use latitudes are being relentlessly expanded as the anti-copyright copyright bar undermines traditional copyright protection.

It's clear to me that the purpose of AP's threats is to intimidate blogs, and it's very likely a reaction against the large amount of criticism they've been receiving lately.

re: #87 buzzsawmonkey

Ah. Very, very interesting. That's not a complaint, as such; it is a Digital Millennium Copyright Act demand that threatens Drudge's ISP with a suit unless the complained-of material is blocked pending adjudication.

In other words, rather than go after Drudge it appears that the AP will be going after Drudge's ISP (deeper pockets) unless the ISP blocks the portions of Drudge's site in question, or Drudge makes blocking unnecessary by taking them down.

Who--if anyone--will be sued, and for what, will depend on whether the ISP is willing to risk its DMCA safe harbor or not.

The AP threat is not against Drudge; apparently some clone or spoof of Drudge--looks like Drudge may have a copyright complaint against this bogus site.

re: #87 buzzsawmonkey

Who--if anyone--will be sued, and for what, will depend on whether the ISP is willing to risk its DMCA safe harbor or not.

Sneaky bastids. They don't even have the balls to go after the "offender".

Charles: What punishment has Stinky mandated for Lizards who violate the AP rule?

re: #94 ted

Stoned to death.......

re: #94 ted

Charles: What punishment has Stinky mandated for Lizards who violate the AP rule?

No punishment will be meted out.

Unless, of course, someone asks for it.

re: #85 Lively

Darn it. Now I'm hungry.

Looks like the AP(es) are trying to see who they can scare with the threat of lawsuits. They don't realize that part of their revenue comes from the bloggers.

re: #95 WhiteRasta

Stoned to death.......

pass the bong and remember don't drink the bong water or take the brownnote acid

re: #64 Sharmuta

Is that what they're really after? They want bloggers to pay a license fee to link their stories?

Probably.

Frankly, if I was them, I might do the same.

(I have long been kicking around some web news blog thingy ideas along those lines ...)

But also frankly, AP will have to make major changes to itself to make that work, too. Everyone links to AP articles on newspaper or Yahoo sites, there is no AP site to link to, anyway we may prefer one of their other indirect contexts. The alternative is that Drudge or LGF or other sites do like Yahoo does, and rehost the content themselves. Big pain. And as others have said, the reduced traffic to the indirect sites, will probably offset exactly any revenue AP could get more directly. Messy business all around.

re: #87 buzzsawmonkey

It appears that Drudge has taken down/blocked those links in response to the DMCA complaint.

Now it stands to see if this is selective against certain bloggers or all bloggers.

re: #91 Charles

It's clear to me that the purpose of AP's threats is to intimidate blogs, and it's very likely a reaction against the large amount of criticism they've been receiving lately.

That too.

re: #86 Spiny Norman

Yes, they will. And it's ridiculous posturing for AP to even consider going after a single blogger.

I just wanted to know if Charles minds Lizards linking to articles that contain that disclaimer, since they mention the AP. I would guess that it is okay since the AP is only one of several sources for a story (we hope) where the byline is not listed as AP.

re: #100 Athos

Now it stands to see if this is selective against certain bloggers or all bloggers.

I was thinking how does this affect sites like digg?

re: #96 Charles

No punishment will be meted out.

Unless, of course, someone asks for it.

But leather on a Lizardroid would be redundant.

re: #92 Alouette

The AP threat is not against Drudge; apparently some clone or spoof of Drudge--

I agree, that site is not Drudgreport dot com.

looks like Drudge may have a copyright complaint against this bogus site.

I don't see that. It seems to be totally from the Associated Press.

Charles, have you no sense of charity? Those second rate AP stringers are going to starve as will their wives and children if they are no longer paid for the dis-information and propaganda that they sell to the MSM to use to propagandize us. Think of all the little children and babies Charles, they will have to choose between starvation and growing up to be terrorists. Oh the humanity!

re: #96 Charles

No punishment will be meted out.

Unless, of course, someone asks for it.

OK. Just don't let Stinky get his hands on the Al-Queda Interrogation Techniques manual.

re: #99 itellu3times

There is fair use of some materials that will come into play.

What is the definition of fair use? One sentence, one paragraph, a personally written summary of the AP article that does not quote the AP article?

The other thing that comes into play is linking to AP content on a newspaper - one is not using the content but driving eyeballs to the newspaper whom we assume is a licensed content subscriber of the AP. Is the AP's position that links are also violations of the DMCA? That sounds like a major stretch since nothing is being hosted on the site other than a pointer / link.

re: #100 Athos

Now it stands to see if this is selective against certain bloggers or all bloggers.

That will be the key.

And of course it will be selective.

Charlesre: #96 Charles

No punishment will be meted out.

Unless, of course, someone asks for it.

Kinky!

/Harvey Korman moment

re: #108 ted

OK. Just don't let Stinky get his hands on the Al-Queda Interrogation Techniques manual.

Give him the manual that includes the Comfy Chair Technique.

How will the AP rule benefit Michelle Obama's children ?

re: #108 ted

OK. Just don't let Stinky get his hands on the Al-Queda Interrogation Techniques manual.

Just use duct tape to secure a set of headphones onto the victim and play a Yoko Ono CD. Preferably on the really early ones on the Apple Records label.

/

re: #113 ted

How will the AP rule benefit Michelle Obama's children ?

These are not the AP rules I knew.

More people should link to them, they can't sue everyone.

There is one word for this, and is, Hubris.

re: #112 CyanSnowHawk

Give him the manual that includes the Comfy Chair Technique.

Are you listening, Charles ?

re: #34 Russkilitlover

So how can they claim propriety over material that originates elsewhere?

I would like to have any attorney on this thread comment.
I thought that once you pulished an article, it was then in the pulic domain, and therefore fair game for usage.
My understanding may really be wrong, but their stance sounds very problematic.

re: #115 Silhouette

These are not the AP rules I knew.

Can't I just cut and paste my waffle?

re: #103 Sharmuta

If Digg is entirely based on a valid link to a subscriber's article and there is nothing beyond fair use amounts of the AP copyrighted content, I would think that the AP would not be able to do anything. That would also apply to any blog. The AP content would found only on the link to the licensed subscriber.

However, if the amount of AP licensed contect exceeded fair use limits, then the AP should, if it will be consistent, go after every site that exceeds a reasonable fair use limit. My guess is that the AP will focus primarily on those sites that they see are disrupting their business by exposing how corrupt and biased they are. Back to your call of hypocrisy - which was right on the mark.

re: #114 The Other Les

Just use duct tape to secure a set of headphones onto the victim and play a Yoko Ono CD. Preferably on the really early ones on the Apple Records label.

/

May I remind you, from the top of every comment page,

"Comments that advocate violence will be cause for immediate banning with no appeal."

re: #112 CyanSnowHawk

Give him the manual that includes the Comfy Chair Technique.

Not the comfy chair!

re: #114 The Other Les

Just use duct tape to secure a set of headphones onto the victim and play a Yoko Ono CD. Preferably on the really early ones on the Apple Records label.

/

Or Mick Jagger's solo cd's box set.

re: #123 Athos

Not the comfy chair!

Quiet you, or well throw in a couple of pillows as well!

Well, it's been real, but I gotta run. Bought 23 water guns and 500 water balloons during lunch for $15.00 in preparation for a huge family reunion coming up. Think I'll go home and test the water guns on my wife. ;)

re: #125 CyanSnowHawk

Quiet you, or well throw in a couple of pillows as well!

Just as long as there is no ottoman.

re: #124 ted

Or, "Feeeeeeeeeeelings, woah, woah. Feeeeeelings...."

re: #127 Athos

Just as long as there is no ottoman.

Racist!

/

Sorry if this has been asked already, as I have not RTFT, but if myself or another Lizard were to quote a bit of one of their articles in the comment section on a blog and post a link, would that get the blog owner/host in any legal trouble?

Cruel and Unusual Punishment:

[Link: www.livenation.com...]

re: #126 bosforus

Well, it's been real, but I gotta run. Bought 23 water guns and 500 water balloons during lunch for $15.00 in preparation for a huge family reunion coming up. Think I'll go home and test the water guns on my wife. ;)

LOL .. so long, it's been good to know ya'

So, what about Google News? They link to almost every news story on the planet, give a summary of the same and do not pay for the priviledge. It would seem to me that they have the deepest pockets of all.

re: #125 CyanSnowHawk

Quiet you, or well throw in a couple of pillows as well!

Not the dreaded goose down pillows - no!

But I’ll gladly join this movement; until the AP climbs down from this caveman approach, there will be no more links to AP stories in front page articles at LGF.

Since you often link to AP stories in order to point out obvious flaws and biases (and outright lies), I'm sure the AP is ecstatic that you and others like you will no longer be focusing on them.

/oh no, don't throw me in the briar patch!

Follow the links as Charles suggested- google pays.

re: #43 angst

This is why my heads meets the desk every time I read about feminists defending Islam. Some things just defy logic.

They really should be ashamed, but I somehow doubt it.
The hypocrisy is stunning. These individuals are hyper sensitive to any real or imagined slight. However they will either defend or ignore brutal treatment of women in Islam.
Why, would that be? Hmm, could it be that they consider Islam in opposition to the U.S & therefore their ally?

re: #137 opnion

Yep, exactly.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend......

re: #114 The Other Les

Just use duct tape to secure a set of headphones onto the victim and play a Yoko Ono CD. Preferably on the really early ones on the Apple Records label.

/

Water boarding is more humane.

re: #135 JamesTKirk

But I’ll gladly join this movement; until the AP climbs down from this caveman approach, there will be no more links to AP stories in front page articles at LGF.

Since you often link to AP stories in order to point out obvious flaws and biases (and outright lies), I'm sure the AP is ecstatic that you and others like you will no longer be focusing on them.

/oh no, don't throw me in the briar patch!

I didn't say this was supposed to be forever - I said until they climb down. And I suspect that's going to happen soon.

Note: the NYT article linked by Ed at Hot Air does NOT say that the AP has backed down on their threats against Drudge Retort. This is the money quote:

Still, Mr. Kennedy said that the organization has not withdrawn its request that Drudge Retort remove the seven items. And he said that he still believes that it is more appropriate for blogs to use short summaries of A.P. articles rather than direct quotations, even short ones.

“Cutting and pasting a lot of content into a blog is not what we want to see,” he said. “It is more consistent with the spirit of the Internet to link to content so people can read the whole thing in context.”

re: #133 galloping granny

So, what about Google News? They link to almost every news story on the planet, give a summary of the same and do not pay for the priviledge. It would seem to me that they have the deepest pockets of all.

I don't know. It is kind of interesting. They (AP) have decided to initially contact a site that (at first glance would seem to be Drudge, but which is not) will generate a lot of publicity for their actions. However, this site does not have the deep pockets of the real Drudge. It seems to be more of a warning shot.
I see your point - why not go after the high traffic sites?

Why on earth would AP not want people to *LINK* to their pages?
They don't want people reading their stories?
That's just stupid.

I can see trying to stop "cut and paste" type outright copyright infringement, but how are they going to stop linking?

re: #130 Slumbering Behemoth

I am not a Lawyer. Probably not because YOU posted the quote and a link to the story. They are going after bigger targets, the authors of posts in their own blogs.

This is just another reason that the old media is dying. Hopefully this will lead to more blogger or independently sourced stories.

Another crack in the wall that is the MSM.

Dinertime! gota go!

re: #141 EC Marm

Because google pays.

(Which still makes me think this is about money just as much as quieting dissenting blog voices.)

re: #142 looking closely

Why on earth would AP not want people to *LINK* to their pages?
They don't want people reading their stories?
That's just stupid.

I can see trying to stop "cut and paste" type outright copyright infringement, but how are they going to stop linking?

I think you might have misunderstood - I meant "link to AND quote their articles." Although they are also apparently upset about the use of their headlines.

re: #136 Sharmuta

Follow the links as Charles suggested- google pays.

Not for the listing in Google News they don't -

Google is quick to add the deal has to do with a new product that will complement Google News, not for its linking to AP stories within the News product.

HA! Mark Levine just called AP the stink bomb of journalism!

re: #108 ted

OK. Just don't let Stinky get his hands on the Al-Queda Interrogation Techniques manual.

Oh no, not the Stinky Panties!

AP seems to be worried about something.

re: #137 opnion

They really should be ashamed, but I somehow doubt it.
The hypocrisy is stunning. These individuals are hyper sensitive to any real or imagined slight. However they will either defend or ignore brutal treatment of women in Islam.
Why, would that be? Hmm, could it be that they consider Islam in opposition to the U.S & therefore their ally?

I think you are correct. This particular breed of feminist somehow thinks our entire nation is sexist, rather than just a few people in it. Personally, I think it is to compensate for some failure of their own. Because if the whole country is against you, you can't be held responsible for your own problems.

re: #141 EC Marm

I don't know. It is kind of interesting. They (AP) have decided to initially contact a site that (at first glance would seem to be Drudge, but which is not) will generate a lot of publicity for their actions. However, this site does not have the deep pockets of the real Drudge. It seems to be more of a warning shot.
I see your point - why not go after the high traffic sites?

Not to mention that AP's copyright claim -if it exists at all - can only apply to the specific arrangement of facts in a given article, not the facts themselves and not any quotations they might give from individuals. I wouldn't dispute their copyright of an opinion piece, but a news story that is being simultaneously reported by other news agencies and sources is specifically not unique and the "unique" is the first requirement for a copyright.

re: #145 Charles

I think you might have misunderstood - I meant "link to AND quote their articles." Although they are also apparently upset about the use of their headlines.

Clearly I did misunderstand.

As to quoting, "Fair use" says small excerpts are OK, especially in the context of criticism of said excerpts.

If AP doesn't like it, they can go pound sand. They can try to intimidate small bloggers by suing, but ultimately they'll lose.

Like the recording industry the AP and others like them were behind the curve on new media and as such are becoming anachronisms. Like the recording industry are not exiting gracefully but rather choosing to behave in a ham handed, litigious manner.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

The Associated Press is apparently suing VeriSign's Moreover for copyright infringement...

If it is just that Moreover is pointing people to AP content, then this is quite ridiculous -- but most likely driven by the AP's ability to get Google to pay up for the same thing.

[Link: www.techdirt.com...]

re: #150 angst

I think you are correct. This particular breed of feminist somehow thinks our entire nation is sexist, rather than just a few people in it. Personally, I think it is to compensate for some failure of their own. Because if the whole country is against you, you can't be held responsible for your own problems.

That makes sense

I can't wait until Reuters and the other press agencies issue statements to the effect of "We're find with linking and small excerpts as long as you follow these guidelines: [insert clear guidelines here]"

re: #153 DobermanBoston

Like the recording industry the AP and others like them were behind the curve on new media and as such are becoming anachronisms. Like the recording industry are not exiting gracefully but rather choosing to behave in a ham handed, litigious manner.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

There is a difference here though. The recording industry has a "unique" product. AP's version of a particular news story can hardly be said to be "unique." There is no copyright on the news.

I guess they finally found a way to bury all their mistakes.

re: #140 Charles

There's that "context" thing again...

Reminds me of Obama's statements about how the media was taking Uncle Reverend Wright's various sermon lines out of context....

What if one uses an IFRAME in a blog, enclosing the original AP content? It's a window to their own site.

just re-write it in your own words, or quote like in a paper with proper footnotes.

Government Definition of Fair Use

The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author's observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.”

My view is that as long as the quote / material taken directly from the AP story has to a) conform to the above fair use definition, and b) have the source credited.

If someone creates their own headline and summary of an AP story, like in the LinkViewer, and then provides the link to the AP story at a location that licenses AP content, I would not think that there is anything that the AP can do about it. If we are to reprint paragraphs or entire AP articles on a blog - then I think there is a point about copyright infringement.

Old media, I believe, still does not get new media and it is easier to blame new media for old media's problems than it is to point the finger at oneself and one's own culpability towards the financial and credibility challenges in old media. If the AP attempts to bully someone with a deep pocket, they may find their intimidation threats called.

re: #159 Intrepid

There's that "context" thing again...

Reminds me of Obama's statements about how the media was taking Uncle Reverend Wright's various sermon lines out of context....

The Obama was really obfuscating. Reverend Wright was actually much worse in full context.
But hey, anybody could mis that over twenty years.

re: #144 Sharmuta

They are hurting financially. The simple approach is to demand all that use their content pay for that content...as if that will fix the root problems in the AP and other media dinosaurs.

Those that disregard the guidelines risk being sued by the A.P., despite the fact that such use may fall under the concept of fair use.

The A.P. doesn’t get to make it’s own rules around how its content is used, if those rules are stricter than the law allows.

As I have been saying, the media-industrial complex is an unelected, unaccountable shadow government. This attempt by AP to legislate its own laws is a prime example.

re: #160 right_on_target

What if one uses an IFRAME in a blog, enclosing the original AP content? It's a window to their own site.

How is that any different than a self-opening link?

OT - And it is from The Times and Fox

To be more precise: the genetic alteration of bugs — very, very small bacteria — so that when they feed on agricultural waste such as wood chips or wheat straw, they do something extraordinary. They excrete crude oil.

Unbelievably, this is not science fiction. Pal holds up a small beaker of bug excretion that could, theoretically, be poured into the tank of the giant Lexus SUV next to us.

Interesing development if true. Up until now everyone was certain crude oil could only come from millions of years of decaying dinosaurs. If it can be produced...wow.

But call me skeptical of a report that apparently thinks a Lexus SUV runs on crude oil.

ot: pretty pictures.

^{just thought I'd share}

The only place to get reliable news is The Onion anyways.

re: #160 right_on_target

What if one uses an IFRAME in a blog, enclosing the original AP content? It's a window to their own site.

That one has long since gone to court and the framer lost big time. By doing that you are stealing their content and advertising views. Really bad idea.

re: #167 Silhouette

It's a crude analogy.

re: #171 pre-Boomer Marine brat

Must.....keep......mouse.....from......down.....di ng......

re: #162 Athos

Old media, I believe, still does not get new media and it is easier to blame new media for old media's problems than it is to point the finger at oneself and one's own culpability towards the financial and credibility challenges in old media.

That's what Mathew Ingram is saying:

This case is yet another example of agencies like the AP — and the World Newspaper Association — trying to regain the control they used to have over access to the news, in an attempt to put the Internet genie back in the bottle.

I do see this as quite similar to the music industry going after file sharing, in that instead of finding a way to embrace the new technology, they tried to stop it. [The illegal file sharing they were right to stop, but in the process, they clearly didn't understand the technological shift that was taking place, imo.]

re: #81 buzzsawmonkey

If AP claims fair use protection to quote someone or something when it reports the news--as it surely does--it can hardly claim its own rights are being violated when its reportage is commented upon.

Some blanket copyright suits are legitimate, such as the RIAA's suits against file-sharers music thieves. Despite the outrage that these suits caused among many, the persons sued had in fact copied and distributed many, many works very widely without permission of the copyright holders, thereby harming the copyright holders.

The AP's threatened suits, however, are directed not against copying, but, apparently, against mere linking and excerpt-quoting--both of which fall well within traditional fair use, and do so all the more so now that fair use latitudes are being relentlessly expanded as the anti-copyright copyright bar undermines traditional copyright protection.

I do have a problem with terminology when it comes to copyright infringement, though. Namely the use of the words "Pirate / Piracy" and "Thief / Theft".

These are words the publishers use to make it sound worse than it is. I agree that the practice is WRONG. It is and should be Illegal. Copyright infringement is a CIVIL matter between citizens and / or companies.

Theft and Piracy are CRIMINAL matters.

Piracy is the act of a takeover invasion of a vessel most commonly associated with DEATH RAPE and MAYHEM. Not figurative. Literal.

Theft is the taking of an object, thereby denying the rightful owner the possession and enjoyment of said property. With copyright infringement this is not the case. Not to say that it does not dilute the owner's rights and profitability of the work.

Now, if some pimply teenager broke in to EMI's corporate headquarters with a machine gun, stole the masters, killed the receptionist and gang-raped the president of the company, that would be akin to piracy.

Otherwise it is inflammatory language.

re: #169 freedombilly

The only place to get reliable news is The Onion anyways.

The resurrected Weekly World News actually calls itself "The world's only reliable newspaper."
For years I had been calling WWN "the most trusted name in major media" when I posted their stories.

re: #167 Silhouette
FNC just ran a story on this plant:

The hardy Jatropha is resistant to drought and pests, and produces seeds containing up to 40% oil. When the seeds are crushed and processed, the resulting oil can be used in a standard diesel engine, while the residue can also be processed into biomass to power electricity plants.
snip
The jatropha oil is also significantly cheaper than crude oil. It could cost an estimated $43 a barrel, or about one-third of June 4, 2008 closing price of $122.30 for a barrel of crude oil.

Wiki link
Prepare for environmentalist outrage.

re: #170 galloping granny

THAT answers THAT!

re: #173 Athos

Must.....keep......mouse.....from......d own.....ding......

I'm grateful for the applause
(-:

Ap can kiss my butt...bunch of anti-American scumbags...

re: #172 buzzsawmonkey

Go to the current statute:

Mind you, fair use is being constantly expanded by the courts and by anti-copyright agitation. The truck-sized loophole of "transformative" use, which was interjected into the copyright law by the Supreme Court in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose (the "Pretty Woman" case), has resulted in a lot of things being adjudged fair use in recent years which would not have been fifteen years ago.

Not to mention that news reports themselves are based on fair use not the uniqueness that copyright requires. I think the most reasonable comparison would be to a recipe: you can copyright the specific words used to write the directions, but not the ingredient list and not the method(s) used, as neither of those is unique.

We can't just boycott AP!?

Chorus:

"Yes we can!"

(Hi Ted, I'm in the next tree)

re: #172 buzzsawmonkey

Thanks for the additional info. It's not unknown for an supposed 800Lbs gorilla to try to force something to gain revenues with the hope that anyone who decides to fight has neither the pockets or desire to carry out litigation.

re: #23 Sharmuta

The good old strategy of litigation- if you can't get your critics to shut up, just sue them.

No, No, No...That's CAIR...:)

re: #183 buzzsawmonkey

First, there are criminal penalties in copyright law--though they are relatively rarely invoked.

Second, the fact that copyright law does rely primarily upon civil enforcement pursued by the aggrieved owner or rightsholder in no way alters the fact that the infringer is indeed denying the rightful owner possession and enjoyment of the property in question.

Hence, theft and yes, piracy.

You're closer on theft, but as a former Coast Guardsman, I can tell you that piracy is the wrong word. We're not talking Johnny Depp here. When you've seen a sailboat where a family of tourists were killed by drug runners so that they could use a "clean" boat for smuggling, you'll have a different outlook.

re: #167 Silhouette

OT - And it is from The Times and Fox

Interesing development if true. Up until now everyone was certain crude oil could only come from millions of years of decaying dinosaurs. If it can be produced...wow.

But call me skeptical of a report that apparently thinks a Lexus SUV runs on crude oil.

The neat thing about crude is that we already have the refining infrastructure in place.

Between this and the algae based oil producers such as Sapphire Energy, I think that oil is going to be a viable energy source for many more years. Sort of deflates that whole 'Peak Oil' problem. Not only that, it makes oil a carbon neutral renewable resource. Heads are going to explode at Greenpeace over these developments.

Maybe buzzsaw can help me here- if a blogger links to an ap story hosted by google, who is paying the ap, shouldn't it be google who should be suing?

re: #185 ploome hineni

..can't blame them

the bloggers on the net keep discrediting the crap they publish, masquerading as 'news'

Exactly. That is the real problem. A horde of 24/7 fact-checkers and cross-examiners are steadily undermining big media's invincible air of authority. There is nothing an arrogant authoritarian hates worse than that.

re: #187 dsrtegl

You're closer on theft, but as a former Coast Guardsman, I can tell you that piracy is the wrong word. We're not talking Johnny Depp here. When you've seen a sailboat where a family of tourists were killed by drug runners so that they could use a "clean" boat for smuggling, you'll have a different outlook.

William Penn and the Price of Pastry

William Penn, the founder and mayor of Philadelphia, had two aunts - Hattie and Sophia - who were skilled in the baking arts. One day, "Big Bill" was petitioned by the citizens of his town because the three bakeries in the town had, during the Revolution, raised the price of pies to the point that only the rich could afford them.

Not wanting to challenge the bakeries directly, he turned to his aunts and asked their advice. But when they had heard the story, the two old ladies were so incensed over the situation that they offered to bake 100 pies themselves, and sell them for 2 cents lower that any of the bakeries were charging.

It was a roaring success. Their pies sold out quickly, and very soon they had managed to bring down the price of all kinds of pastry in Philadelphia.

In fact, even to this very day, their acheivements are remembered as the remarkable Pie rates of Penn's aunts.

off topic

[Link: sayanythingblog.com...]

is there anything obama knows about ww2 and post ww2?

re: #177 EC Marm

Prepare for environmentalist outrage.

It is IMPOSSIBLE that someone found a working solution because I have been assured that "no one" is seriously working on a solution and they won't unless "we" have a massive gub'mint program to do it (because capitalists free societies and free trade will never come up with a solution because they are only about greed and killing mother earth).

/

I have doubts about the two technologies. How much ariable land otherwise used for food production would be needed to meet world oil demand right now? 50 years from now? Similiar questions about space, production quantity, wheat or wood food with the bugs.

And what is the energy output of these fuels? If they have 1/2 the energy of regular oil, for example, all the numbers above will have to be doubled. Neither may be a solution, but they show progess.

There are lots of sources of biodiesel. I'm most interested in a bug that poops crude oil. Nifty!

Are we missing the forest for the trees?

Why would the AP take this "self-defeating" action?

Hmmm....If the strategic objective of AP is to eliminate competition from alternative media sources (and I think it is). Then this apparently "self-defeating" action makes perfect sense. It is similar to striking at your adversaries weak point; the blogosphere relies on it's ability to freely ( and I mean monetarily) link to copyrighted stories, as a fundamental business process. Eliminate that fundamental business process and you harm the alternative media.

The MSM has declared war on the alternative media, and the alternative media does not realize it. Very 5th Generation (5GW). Couple AP's actions with the recent sliming of "right-wing" bloggers and the strategy becomes clear. The First Amendment is under assault by the forces of totalitarianism.

re: #193 Silhouette

It is IMPOSSIBLE that someone found a working solution because I have been assured that "no one" is seriously working on a solution and they won't unless "we" have a massive gub'mint program to do it (because capitalists free societies and free trade will never come up with a solution because they are only about greed and killing mother earth).

/

Perhaps they stumbled on it. Or slipped, as it is oil.

re: #191 Dustyvet

*barf*
/I love it!

Cellulosic ethanol

This is the holy grail of bio fuels, partly because people can't eat cellulose anyway, and it will have less impact on food production therefore.

re: #191 Dustyvet

I am soooooooo ashamed that I read that ...
and then fell for it.
Like a ton of bricks.
Soooooo ashamed.
I'm going to pretend I never saw that.

re: #197 Ojoe

Cellulosic ethanol

This is the holy grail of bio fuels, partly because people can't eat cellulose anyway, and it will have less impact on food production therefore.

Starving termites doesn't bother you ?

re: #202 buzzsawmonkey

Words used as terms of art have different meaning in different disciplines. In copyright, the wholesale theft of works is considered "piracy"--and has been thus referred to for decades at least. Certain nations--notably China, Mexico, and Brazil--connive at and protect wholesale copyright theft of desirable properties.

It in no way belittles the horrors of drug-related murders to recognize that the same word does not necessarily mean the same thing across different disciplines. And I refuse to be held solely responsible for a term of art which I use in my discipline as it is customarily used.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. However, unlike people on the opposite end of the political spectrum, I can disagree without being disagreeable.

AP seems to want a lock on all the original facts of the news.....only allowing bloggers to take off from their facts in one direction or another.
You know who AP is trying to please?
Howard Zinn.
The revisionist historian Howard Zinn manages to put out ''history books" with few or no footnotes or bibliographies.
AP is trying to make us and all our favorite blogs have the feel of a Howard Zinn ''history'' book.
Then how could we tell real news from fake?
It would be like that old game "Telephone."
By the time AP hears it's original story a week later through the blogs it would be unrecognizable!

I'm just going to quote from my own blog:

I, and many other bloggers were quite surprised to learn that the Drudge Retort was served with takedown notices by the Associated Press for what are clearly Fair Use citations. A small snippet followed by a link is important not only for fact checking of bloggers by their readers it actually sends hits to the linked articles. And hits mean revenue!

Clearly the AP was trying to force some sort of pay-for-use scheme regardless of adherence to Fair Use. That not only makes them bullies, it makes them stupid. So we here at JBM join with our fellow bloggers in denying revenue to the AP through traffic. Like Michael Arrington says at TechCrunch :

Despite all the doubters I have gone back through my blog for the last several weeks and found that _every_ story has an equivalent somewhere else. What banning AP does it hurt it's membership. They loose revenue. And they should; when AP isn't being a shill for Radical Islamic Fundamentalists they are a rip-and-read take off of their member's work. Hurt the members enough and things will change....and let's remember that many of their members have dove whole heart into the intranet to keep revenues up.

Don't they know that information wants to be free?
/copyleftie

re: #197 Ojoe

Cellulosic ethanol

This is the holy grail of bio fuels, partly because people can't eat cellulose anyway, and it will have less impact on food production therefore.

Less impact maybe, but even if it isn't a food, there remains the potential that former growers of food would switch to growing plants for these productions instead (Switch to switchgrass?) and cause a decrease in food supplies. Something to consider.

I still think the solution is going to be nuclear. Sure there are problems, waste, how to transfer the energy to cars, etc., but the sheer volume of energy produced can't be matched.

I wish there was some medium, or some other way to do some journalism, or share and discuss freely the events and people that shape our world, completely separate from the AP.

Oh... Wait...

Sorry y'all but I've just sorta skimmed this thread and wonder if linking to and quoting from AP stories in the spin-off links would violate Charles' policy of
"there will be no more links to AP stories in front page articles at LGF." ?

AP's contempt for bloggers was revealed in late 2006 during the flap over its reportage of an incident in Iraq in which six Sunnis were supposedly attacked and burnt alive by Shiites -- reportage whose veracity was challenged by the military, as reported here:

[Link: www.nytimes.com...]

The relevant (if indirect) quote:

"The executive editor of The Associated Press, Kathleen Carroll, in a meeting in her office Friday afternoon, explained that the agency had already done all it could to respond to the uncertainties by vigorously re-reporting the article, and suggested that to engage these questions — to continue to write about them — merely fueled a mad blog rabble that would never be satisfied."

Whatever would the jihadi's do if AP/Reuters/CNN weren't around to help the terrorists get their message out.

re: #209 realwest

I think he was speaking specifically to the content of his post.

re: #207 Silhouette

Less impact maybe, but even if it isn't a food, there remains the potential that former growers of food would switch to growing plants for these productions instead (Switch to switchgrass?) and cause a decrease in food supplies. Something to consider.

I still think the solution is going to be nuclear. Sure there are problems, waste, how to transfer the energy to cars, etc., but the sheer volume of energy produced can't be matched.

Plug-in electric cars can re"fuel" at night and store a charge sufficient for a modest commute and some grocery shopping. A good fraction (half?) of all the miles people log are made of such short trips. Pennies per mile fuel cost, assuming the extra generating capacity is built. Negligible CO2 emissions if the electricity is nuclear.

As to the nuclear waste, it can be stored on-site. It can be stored in the Yucca mountain repository. Any small risk of radiation pales in comparison to the risks inherent in sending lots of money to people who don't like you, for a product you're effectively addicted to.

Makes me kind of yearn for a real UPI again, as if it will ever happen...

Would it pass muster if AP stories were quoted/paraphrased using a program that translated them into some comprehensible Swedish Chef translation?
Blogs would still be able to "quote" AP stories
and the reason for the mangling could be promoted at the beginning of every fair use.
After a time the AP might look even more ridiculous than they already do.

re: #213 lostlakehiker

Plug-in electric cars can re"fuel" at night and store a charge sufficient for a modest commute and some grocery shopping. A good fraction (half?) of all the miles people log are made of such short trips. Pennies per mile fuel cost, assuming the extra generating capacity is built. Negligible CO2 emissions if the electricity is nuclear.

That would be a problem, though, for someone driving cross-country on a time limit, if because of a strict deadline the person literally doesn't have the option of stopping at a hotel for an overnight sleep but instead must hand off the drive to the other driver while he sleeps for 6 hours, and then takes over from that driver and lets him sleep for 6 hours...

He'd literally run out of juice well before the trip was over... :-/

As to the nuclear waste, it can be stored on-site. It can be stored in the Yucca mountain repository. Any small risk of radiation pales in comparison to the risks inherent in sending lots of money to people who don't like you, for a product you're effectively addicted to.

Trouble is, even the Yucca mountain solution might not pan out. I read somewhere that even that site might not be totally safe against a breach over the period of eons that the radioactive waste must remain totally sealed up. Cracks could still form, letting radioactive material leach out into the groundwater or something.

I suppose we could take the "Space: 1999" approach and store it all on the far side of the Moon. :-|

In any event, this all forgets the fact that modern nuclear reactors use a type of fuel that can also be turned into parts for weapons. Indeed, even glossing over the possibility of terrorist-made H-bombs, the radioactive waste from nuclear power plants could be turned into "dirty bombs."

Yes, nuclear power is a nice, high-tech thing. In our present, violence-filled, sin-sick world, though, I fear nuclear power is going to be a risky thing to roll out.

Or if they do roll out more nuclear power plants... I figure there's going to be a need for military-grade maximum security protection for the plant, for the nuclear fuel coming in, and for the radioactive waste coming out.

Email I sent to AP, not that I expect much of a response:

The widely accepted practice to avoid copyright infringement is to excerpt and link. It is about time you accepted that standard and dismounted your high horse. I would think you'd welcome links to your products, but apparently you do not. You may find out soon that people will find it much easier to not refer to AP at all. Why would anyone risk being sued by telling anyone about it? I will not look upon AP as anything but a pack of whiners from here out. And, since so many others use your material, they will get ignored also. -- "The man who carries a cat by the tail learns something that can be learned in no other way." - Mark Twain

They can't tell you not to use quotes, pull sentences from or discuss articles they post. It's the fair use doctrine. In other words, you don't have to pay the Assholiated Press if you say:

Associated Press: "Bush found to be the ten million times worse than hitler by in-partial scientific study"

And to get legal backing for the concept that you can't use a link to refer people to an article of theirs will require some new amendments to the constitution as well as the abolition of some others.

The lawyer who told the AP they could come out with these new rules must have called in sick the day they studied law in law school.

Let me get this straight.

The AP re-hashes local newspaper articles and then complains when bloggers re-re-hash those same articles displayed on AP's site?

My head's spinning. What's next? AP files lawsuit against a reader deemed to be in disagreement with the editorial AP writer's opinion?

Interesting.

With all due respect, Charles, I think the Associated Press has finally shaken itself awake and done what it should have done long ago.

Unless I'm mistaken, their stance is only against 'reproduction,' not 'reference.' So linking or quoting stories, as you put it, is not a problem as I've been given to understand it. If you can point me toward something from the AP that explicitly forbids linking or quoting, I'll reverse that thought.

I'll be frank: A lot of blogs do far, far more than merely quote an AP story. They give the gist of it, which lessens its value to the AP, which violates Fair Use.

TechCrunch bemoans the AP's insistence on a 'dying business model': paid content. Tough. When TechCrunch and other blogs start footing the bill for the very -- very -- expensive material the AP and other news services produce, then they can give it away themselves. Until then the 'boycott' is a bit of a chuckle.

Bravo if you keep it up, Charles. I think that's a more honest way to blog anyway. I'd like to see you likewise boycott all the other media that are shown being dramatically swept away in ads on your site. Either they're swept away, or they're not. (And no, I'm not talking about media criticism posts.)

In the meantime I'm amazed at the highly confident, highly mistaken comments here -- a little research would help some folks better understand how the AP works. It's worth the effort, if you plan to offer such high-voltage criticism.

I think a page solution is marketing icons to pages that host google and ap links and use discalimers. Some nice catchy fox and corkum logo.

This page has content by AP which as of this date still lives in the dark ages of freedom. Click this link to show them you disapprove. We cover their links because we have to not because we want to.

we consider AP and Google to be anti freedom methodologies.

AP is shutting down a lot of free traffic to their advertisers with this move.

re: #222 Cognito

The way I read it a bit ago, is that they like suing the little guy to make their big point. They like nifonging people. Media is changing. Someday there will be a Utub of news images that photogs submit to. And they will get paid for clicks.

There will be debate wiki's on the validity of a single photograph. If it's an AP photo it will probably be a 404 image.

All these online newspapers? The San Jose Mercury online, Slate, The NYT. I stopped reading them completely when approached with their cost model.

If the AP creates false images of the world. The discussion and production of those images should be open for display and debate. Especailly if they are pursuing a political agenda and attempting to influence affairs as an example of their lack of value and integrity.

I wish we could buy UPI and use their assets to counter Arrogant Press.

Apparently, the AP is spelling America with a "k" now.

My idiotic take.

re: #2 Maximu§

re: #27 Maximu§

there will be no more links to AP stories in front page articles at LGF.

“Its about time we had some good news in here.”

Yes. I agree.

“Yeah after they wring the real truth out of it, twist it like a pretzel, tweak it , step on it, powder coat it and throw in some cute catch-words...than it becomes an AP story.”

And, with a hard left BDS slant at that.

I am not at all sad to see their Cut-and-Paste Propaganda go down the toilet.

I remember the Haifa street murder where AP Stringers just happened to be on spot the to photo graph a murder of Iraqi election workers.

As most at the Belmont Club surmised the AP was projecting terror in the hearts of Iraqi voters. I think that the Belmont Club was on target. The AP was just waiting for that murder to occur with cameras rolling.

[Belmont Club]

The journalists who have been killed or wounded in Iraq are rightly honored because noncombatants, belonging to neither side, who have the courage to walk into danger to gather news, deserve every distinction than can be bestowed. They should not be confused, nor their memory sullied, by association with individuals who, posing as protected persons, act as mouthpieces of terrorist organizations, which would have been the case if the AP photographer had not been there to innocently cover a demonstration. That is why asking questions about what happened on Haifa Street is so important.

See: Haifa street execution

...it is a violation of free speech to deny the exposure of lies and liars...The AP is full of liars...so who are the judges and who are the legislators and who are the executives that need to be bounced for supporting this evil...this enslavement of and from thoughts and words?

So sue for commenting on your lies...puhlease...I'd like to watch the dogs of civil judgment roll over you...I would love to see a congressional investigations..and your cries of "Freedom of the Press!"...which translates to your "Freedom to Lie"...I'd love to see your credibility wither as you pass $100 million from your pockets...

...and every newspaper in this country will pay for it...

there *could* be a law

I remember something about a time with media ownership regulations so no individual could hold sway over a market's information...Who are your competitors A.P.? How much market share do you hold? What percentage of newspapers are you in?

This beast known as the "Associated Press" has become a menace to society...what an interesting problem...

What, are they still seething from the fauxtography scandal? Or from the other times when they've been exposed for inaccurate reporting/promoting propaganda? Instead of being responsible for their mistakes, they resort to bullying and do what they can to chip away at internet neutrality. I shudder at the thought of what could very well happen if they and people like them are successful in their attempts. Long live freedom of speech.

That's funny, I don't remember the New York Times wringing its hands when the Associated Press came after little old me. And heck, from what I've gathered, my case would've been a lot more important when it comes to case law with respect to news photography and "fair use," even if I wasn't on the most comfortable legal ground.

But hey, a liberal website's being attacked by the mean old Associated Press. I guess that's page one news.

Sheesh! No respect at all! ;)

Regards,
Brian

What a terrible development, no more AP. I'll miss their lefist slant,their absolute slavish devotion to all things un-American much in the way that I miss a good bout of dysentery or even just a good old fashioned sinus infection. I guess I'll have to depend on other sites like LGF and a host of other sites that are only content to get it right.
Any chance in boycotting Al Reuters? Just askin.....