Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Media resorts to cannibalism for survival
Remember the movie Alive?
The graphic and controversial film was a re-enactment of the Andes Airflight Disaster, when survivors ate the remains of crash victims to fight starvation.
Following the crash of their own stock, news media is following a similar course.Alternative media claims that mainstream publications are picking them apart to help their own survival. The Boston Globe (a division of New York Times Company) and Huffington Post, have been accused of plagiarism by Gatehouse Media and Chicago Reader, respectively.
Chicago Reader, a division of Creative Loafing Inc., has accused Huffington Post of stealing its copyrighted theater reviews and re-publishing them in their entireity. Creative Loafing filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in September
Meanwhile, Gatehouse Media,which publishes hundreds of daily and weekly papers throughout the U.S., has accused the Boston Globe of stealing its headlines and original material. Neither company can afford a costly lawsuit or settlement The Boston Globe is a division of the New York Times, which is in the midst of one of its worst quarter and revenue has also dropped for Gatehouse Media.Marty Bandier, who was on Gatehouse's board of directors, resigned just two weeks ago.
Personally, I think these two separate cases are just the beginning Don't get me wrong, I don't condone the actions of the Huffington Post. No blog should steal ANY publication's ENTIRE section, but the timing seems to be more than just a coincidence.
*Update: In related news, the Pew Research Center revealed some interesting stats in its latest survey. Of the 1,489 adults in the U.S. they surveyed, 40 percent said they get most of their national and international news from the Internet, compared to 35 percent from newspapers.
Posted By Matt O'Hern at 10:11 AM
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