Fox News stooped to a bit of copyright infringement last week in lifting a story from the Pulp. In response, we sent a letter to Fox this morning with a reasonable demand for compensation.
Dearest Fox News,
It came as some surprise to see your January 27 article titled "Epic Campaign Ad Brings Obama's 'Captain of the Ship' Analogy to Life." It's not that the article doesn't fit into the narrow right-winged focus of your site, but it was surprising that the article had been lifted in its entirety from the New Times website, replete with the byline of one of our employees.
Sure, it's flattering to be recognized by an esteemed website so beloved by those who appreciate unbiased reporting (ha ha, I know, right?). Never would I have imagined Fox
News lifting an article in its entirety from our little newspaper. You
reached into the bowels of the mainstream media, down to the small
intestine of journalism, and found an alternative newsweekly in South
Florida owned by Village Voice Media. The Village Voice! It must be a
hard truth to accept, like a conservative whose TV is stuck on MSNBC.
Typically,
such blatant copyright infringement would end with substantial
compensation to make up for your violation of the law. But I'm willing
to offer a way to make amends for this vile act of yours that does not
involve a seven-figure settlement. Instead, we'll take 30 minutes with
Bill O'Reilly. That's right, we can settle this thing with a short
phoner with Papa Bear. Hell, we'd even take Greta Van Susteren. In a
pinch, Sean Hannity, but let's be honest: He's not your best.
As
you might guess, we'll use these 30 minutes for Fox News-style gotcha
journalism, attempting to trap your hosts into admitting the
conservative bias that is your network. Afterward, feel free to link to
our story -- as long as you don't lift it entirely, because we both know
that's a shitty thing to do.
I eagerly await hearing from Papa Bear's scheduler.
Yours,
Eric Barton, editor, New Times Broward-Palm Beach
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