The New York Times, like most entertainment, publishing, and media behemoths, is firmly in favor of the stalled efforts in Congress to reel in copyright infringement and outright piracy on the Internet, especially from those overseas entities that US law as written can’t touch.
“The central purpose of the legislation — rather lost in the rhetorical cross-fire and press coverage — was to extend the copyright laws that already protect content-creators in the US to offshore havens where the most egregious pirates have set up shop” former Times executive editor Bill Keller wrote in a recent op-ed. “Like most people who make their living the way I do, I think parasite Web sites should be treated with the same contempt as people who pick pockets or boost cars.”
The irony in Keller’s stance – some would say the hypocrisy – is that just two days before, the Times ran a piece by op-ed columnist Joe Nocera about the increased attention given to the long-term effects of football injuries. Nocera’s piece ran with a full PDF, not a link, of an article from the now defunct Real Paper by Boston sportscasting legend Clark Booth, the first, according to Nocera, to broach the subject.
Boston Phoenix editor Carly Carioli, whose paper owns the copyright, wrote a tongue-in-cheek open letter to Keller asking what his next step should be. (“Should we call the lawyer?” he asks.) To make his point, Carioli points out the numerous times the Times went after smaller sites for things as simple as lifting their headlines.
In a follow-up blog post, Carioli wrote that he was contacted by Boston Review managing editor Simon Waxman who had the same issue with the Times and a Nocera column from last fall. It seems that Nocera column included a link to a PDF of a Boston Review article by Tennessee Congressman Jim Cooper that Nocera was highlighting. In posting that PDF, instead of a link to the Boston Review website where it was freely available, the Times also posted without permission the work of 10 other authors that was included in the PDF.
“[The Times] never sought our permission or, as far as I know, the permission of the 11 authors whose work they reproduced,” Waxman told Carioli.
The Times has since removed the PDF links from the offending stories, but as Carioli points out, they still live on in the Times server as well as those of their original owners. Under the two bills that were killed in Congress, the Times would have been in violation of the piracy clauses and technically could have been shut down by the owners of the pirated material.
Carioli says his point is not to engage the Times and its lawyers in an expensive court battle but rather come to an understanding about developing a sensible copyright infringement law that does not hold draconian consequences for smaller sites and inadvertent slip-ups. Over at Media Nation, Dan Kennedy points out that if Carioli had indeed pushed the issue, it would be a loser for the Times because it was a wholesale lifting of someone else’s work, not a fair-use matter of commentary and opinion.
The episodes are prime examples of the pitfalls of the Internet even for the largest companies with infinite resources. And the issue raises legitimate concerns over how to protect the original work and copyright of those who produce.
But one very positive result came from the contretemps: Clark Booth is one hell of a writer, and a new generation of readers can find him still going strong over at the Dorchester Reporter and the Boston Archdiocese’s newspaper, The Pilot.
–JACK SULLIVAN
BEACON Hill
Many Beacon Hill lawmakers seem to be lawyering up, and using their campaign accounts to pay their tabs, CommonWealth reports.
In an editorial, the Eagle-Tribune accuses Republican Rep. Paul Adams of following in the footsteps of his political patron, Lawrence Mayor William Lantigua, by not discussing his campaign finance violations.
In CommonWealth, Jim Aloisi offers an excerpt from his new book about former Chief Justice Robert Bonin, and says the story may have lessons for today.
Republican lawmakers are increasing the pressure on Gov. Deval Patrick to prevent abuse of EBT cards, the electronic food stamp debit card, that could be used to purchase liquor, tobacco, and lottery tickets, even though there has been no evidence that anyone has actually purchased liquor, tobacco, or lottery tickets with them in Massachusetts.
According to The Berkshire Eagle, House Speaker Robert DeLeo appears to be following the “bad advice” of anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist who opposes lifestyle taxes on items like cigarettes, candy, and soda. Norquist was in Massachusetts the day before DeLeo made his his “no new taxes or fees” announcement.
The Herald’s Peter Gelzinis and Howie Carr offer dueling takes on Sal DiMasi’s return to the state.
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Crime fighting pays: Eight of the top 10 wage earners on Boston’s city payroll last year were police officers.
Part of how they earned the big bucks: Boston spent $1.4 million in police overtime monitoring Occupy Boston’s encampment.
Lawrence Mayor William Lantigua skips the state of the city address required under the city’s charter, the Eagle-Tribune reports.
Boston officials’ declaration that a dilapidated Chinatown apartment building is unsafe for occupancy has left 40 to 50 tenants, mostly Chinese immigrants who speak little or no English, scrambling to find somewhere to live.
One of Dartmouth’s three members of the Board of Assessors has missed 68 percent of the panel’s meetings since being elected in 2004, according to a review by the New Bedford Standard Times. Kevin Santos told the paper he can’t make all the twice-monthly meetings because “there’s just too many of them.”
A nonprofit parks group unveils an ambitious vision for the Charles River Esplanade in Boston. Radio Boston examines the proposed redesign.
NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON
Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas is once again in the middle of a political maelstrom after posting a message on his Facebook page supporting the Catholic bishops in their fight against the Obama administration about mandated coverage of birth control under health insurance plans. Despite posting the political screed on a public forum where 850 million people can see it, Thomas refused to answer questions about his views, which he says are “my private life.” House Speaker John Boehner wades into the dispute, vowing to push legislation that would overturn the mandate. The bishops’ fracas-raising was preceded by months of debate and planning. Though Mitt Romney has joined the conservative pile-on, the Globe reports that he did not change a similar coverage mandate in Massachusetts law while serving as governor.
ELECTION 2012
For Romney — he of no worries for the very poor but a vow to fix the safety net if it needs fixing — Harvard economist Ed Glaeser offers a blueprint for doing more for the poor with less that ought to appeal to the candidate’s inner Bain. Both the National Review and Weekly Standard say Romney’s support for indexing the minimum wage to inflation is a nonstarter for conservatives and could further impair the job recovery.
An early poll has good news for would-be congressional candidate Joe Kennedy III. The Herald says its poll shows no sign of Kennedy fatigue; Sean Bielat, who carried 43 percent of the old 4th Congressional District against Barney Frank, is unknown to a majority of voters in the poll.
Darth Mitt? Conservative wordmeister Peggy Noonan compares the Romney campaign to the Death Star.
Rick Santorum is campaigning like a contender.
A New York Times editorial praises Scott Brown’s and Elizabeth Warren’s stances toward super PACs.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
The $25 billion settlement between 49 state attorneys general and five of the biggest banks involved in alleged mortgage fraud and improper foreclosure practices was unveiled yesterday; $318 million is earmarked for Massachusetts residents. Time breaks down the foreclosure deal. Radio Boston examines the local impact. Reliably, the Wall Street Journal editorial page compares the deal to a bank robbery.
Freetown voters overwhelmingly approved a home-rule petition at a special town meeting last night that would exempt construction of a proposed building by medical software company Meditech from oversight by the Massachusetts Historical Commission.
The video game business is trying to move to the next level in Massachusetts. How much of helping hand will state government offer? CommonWealth has the story.
Apple founder Steve Jobs had a 2.65 grade point average in high school, according to his just-released FBI file, Time reports.
Google is starting to act more like Apple, as it plans to roll out a branded home entertainment system.
EDUCATION
Massachusetts was one of 10 states granted a waiver yesterday from some of the more unpopular provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Law.
New Bedford’s graduation rate increased for the first time in four years but still lags behind the average of other Gateway Cities including neighboring Fall River.
A nonprofit group whose proposal to build a marine and environmental community college in Scituate was rejected by the town administrator last week says the rejection may have been influenced by a local opposition group.
HEALTH CARE
Gov. Deval Patrick put forward a $156 million plan for providing health care coverage to 37,000 legal immigrants in the wake of a Supreme Judicial Court ruling that the state could not exclude them from receiving subsidized coverage under the state’s health care reform law.
TRANSPORTATION
The MetroWest Daily News heralds the new FAA appropriations legislation that Congress finally passed.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
A House committee led by US Rep. Edward Markey issues a report indicating federal oversight of gas drilling is lax, Governing reports.
Daffodils bloom on the Cape and, yes, no one can ever remember that happening this early. Maple syrup producers are also getting a jump on tapping their trees. Those producers have noticed, too, that some western Mass bears are already out of hibernation.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
A Norfolk Superior Court judge ruled parts of an inquest into the 1986 shooting death of Seth Bishop, whose sister Amy Bishop is awaiting trial in Alabama for the 2010 rampage killings of three biology department colleagues at the University of Alabama, can be released.
MEDIA
The Knight Foundation is revamping its news challenge, the Nieman Journalism Lab reports.