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Copyrights And Wrongs
By Roberta Beach Jacobson, Sat Dec 10th
Somehow we have come to believe more is better, that it‘s a goodthing if a search engine pops up with 27,999 entries on a givensubject. Yet it‘s because of this very "too muchness" that manyjournalists have found themselves entangled in the Web. Writers believe they‘ve sold one-time rights to articles, whichthen are left indefinitely on Websites or in archives - trappedwithout their permission, often times even without theircreator's knowledge. In all but a few cases, writers have notbeen compensated financially for this prolonged use of theirwork. These days every tiny business, every magazine and newspaper,wants a Website. Editors who would probably hand back the cointo the supermarket cashier who gave them too much changeapparently think nothing of decorating their Webpages with"donated" articles.
Copyright is copyright, folks, be it bleached pulp orcyberspace. Cyberspace is just more complex. The Internet is like a train out of control, running away withwriters rights. Because the Web is in its infancy, these workingconditions can be improved. We still have a chance to patchthings up and head that train in the right direction. Discovering a freshness Even some journalists who once turned uptheir noses at the new medium are curious enough to flag downthe train, not even sure where it‘s bound. The Internet has beensaid to provide some old-fashioned print journalists the rush ofexcitement they once felt when they started out as cub reportersso
many moons ago. There‘s plenty of uncharted territory to cover and new rules tolearn such as creating shorter sentences and paragraphs. Thiscan lend a certain freshness to a stale career. Web managers do have a problem on their hands. Practicallyovernight, they have been expected to become HTML savvy andproduce fully-functioning, competitive sites with plenty oftoots and whistles. Often they have little or no staff. They are supposed tointelligently address an international audience, wow them, andsomehome make a profit at the end. To disguise the function of journalists by referring to them as"content providers," "word architects" or mere "slot fillers" isa disservice. With the new titles, it ‘s easier to imagine themmindlessly churning out piece after piece to hand over withoutcomment or concern. Instead of sitting in first class, "contentproviders" end up chasing after the caboose. Let‘s explore and celebrate this new medium together, butthere‘s no passing the buck. Let‘s not allow the practice offair for good journalism to be thoughtlessly tossedout the train‘s window as we sit back and enjoy the ride. We editors and publishers are the ones with the authority tomake positive changes and we certainly have the responsibilityto know exactly what‘s posted on our Websites, under whatconditions it got there, where it goes next - and why.
About the author:Roberta Beach Jacobson lives on the tiny Greek island ofKarpathos and is the editor of Kafenio(http://www.kafeniocom.com), the free monthly e-zine focusing onEuropean life and culture.
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