The National Association of Press Agencies has written to the boss of the Press Association over claims that it lifted a story written by a local agency.
On 28 December, the Southampton based Solent News and Photo agency carried out an exclusive interview with David Yeates, father of murdered Jo Yeates, at his home in Hampshire.
The agency distributed the story on that day to a number of selected publications including the Southern Daily Echo.
Shortly after they had filed, its staff noticed that the story has been been reproduced on the Daily Mirror website. The story featured each and every one of the agency quotes, but quoted Mr Yeates as having ‘told the Southern Daily Echo.’
Solent boss David Holt claims the piece was sent out by the Press Association, under the byline Rod Minchin.
NAPA, which represents independent news agencies across the UK, has written to PA editor Jonathan Grun over the incident, while Solent said it is is consulting lawyers with a view to taking legal action for breach of copyright.
Mr Holt said: “This wasn’t a case of someone ‘nicking a couple of grab quotes’. It was a wholesale lift – they had filed 237 words, the Mirror piece was 241 words long.
“Once you removed the phrase ‘told the Southern Daily Echo,’ there was a single word of difference between the two.”
“Since Ms Yeates went missing we have had a team of reporters working on the story every day. They worked right through Christmas and our reporters were visibly upset when news came through that a body had been found.
“So to find our original work running, without license, on numerous newspaper websites as far afield as Lancashire and Belfast, was galling.”
On 30 December, Solent filed another exclusive interview with the parents of Jo Yeates. commenting mainly on the arrest of suspect Chris Jefferies.
Again it was posted on the Southern Evening Echo’s website and the agency claims that within minutes it too was reproduced in its entirety by PA.
In its letter, NAPA calls on Mr Grun to apologise to Solent, adding: “The days when the network of freelances in the UK enjoyed a healthy working relationship with PA are a fading memory.”
Mr Grun said: “The Press Association has at all time acted in good faith in our reporting of this story.”
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An apology ? for thousands of pounds of work stolen ? is this a joke, if Solent had stolen a PA story they would be frogmarched to court and bankrupted with legal fees. If PA get away or just pay a use fee with this then they take it as a green light to steal any work. Come on NAPA, this is your day, your call to war, get behind Solent, get the lawyers in and get them in court, if the boot was on the other foot Solent would already be in the dock.
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A call to war for NAPA ? Are you having a laugh, they are a blunt gums and all bark, too comfortable to rock any boat, make no mistake, PA will wipe out these agencies once they have leached them dry of sources in that area. Nothing will be done, PA will put a notch on the sword.
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Well agencies steal stuff from local papers all the time, word for word and without permission. Can’t see how this is any different.
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bit sad isnt’t it? girl gets murdered. row over a few quid for an interview. it is indeed a sad profession. Lifting isn’t new. Even radio is at it every single day reading out stories from the papers without even checking they are true. By the way, anyone noticed how some of the nationals have again declared themselves detectives, jury, and judge before anyone gets to court. It seems you can get away with anything if you are big enough. Pity poor old Solent then, Small fish eaten alive by the sharks of national media. But pity the girl’s family anf friends more. Pestered by hacks they’d really rather not talk to but are too polite to tell to …..off
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PA will be hoping Solent/NAPA realise that the likely compensation they might win in court would be much smaller than the costs associated with taking legal action. PA clearly went too far on this one due to inexperienced journalists being left in charge of the News Desk and desperate, over-worked regional reporters trying to cover a story on their own. A few years ago they would have been part of a large team covering the only major UK story breaking over the holiday period.
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Isn’t this just comeuppance? I have seen many, many examples of where news agencies simply lift stories from local newspapers and websites, then make a mint after selling them onto national newspapers.
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I would have thought that the sensible thing, in view of the national interest in the story, would have been for Solent to sell it to PA. Another media group was sure to pick it up from the Echo’s website.
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I agree that Solent should of sold the story on straight away. Solent cannot be so naive as to think it would not get lifted. Besides that agencies lift copy wholesale from the weeklies. They must know the score.
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This was clearly an interview that was exclusive to Solent, and supplied to national newspapers by them but also run the the Evening Echo as a courtesy to the local paper and the family. From other associated publications under Solent by-lines it is clear that they have a good rapport with the grieving family. It is also wrong to perpetrate a group libel “all agencies” by suggesting that each one lifts copy willy nilly. There is a difference between a follow-up and a direct lift as all readers of this site should know.
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Hmm. Agency complains over copy being stolen. Bit rich, no?
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Reputable journalists and agencies do not simply lift stories from local newspaper websites. Reputable agencies either have a syndication deal with a paper to distribute its stories to a wider market or check with the sources quoted in the story and produce a new version on the basis of those inquiries. Otherwise, what would you fall back on should the original copy contain an inaccuracy or libel? However, it would now seem that working for the Press Association has become a case of ‘copy and paste’. Is that what journalism is supposed to be about? No need for future recruits to worry about costly student tuition fees, simply brush up on your keyboard skills and apply for a post at PA…?
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This has been an controversial issue for some time and hopefully this will finally set a precedent. PA believe it has the right to steal from local papers as it also supplies to them. However, it does this for a fee. If an agency such as Solent, which is small in size compared to PA, were to do the same thing they would be sued for infringing copyright. RE: Accusations that independent agencies steal copy from local papers. Most agencies have agreements with local newspapers, which are mutually beneficial. Well done to NAPA and to Solent.
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Wow, have NAPA woken up. Can they do something about the nonsensical rates agencies are paid? Thought not. Try earning your subscriptions for once.
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A news agency in uproar when their quotes are lifted?! Oh, the irony. I’ve lost count of how many times the hard work of journalists on local and regional papers are ripped off and repackaged by agencies. Plagiarism is rife across British “journalism”.
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I also agree with one of the previous comments. A woman has died and we’re talking about an argument over a few quid? christ.
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I am with byter and also. Get your souls back boys and girls. It’s an uncomprtable fact that we all make money out of tragedy, but let’s squabble over it.
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‘Should of sold the story on’, Cornish patsy, on a website for journalists? Lord help us – it’s ‘should have’ for heaven’s sake.
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I do not believe this is an argument ‘over a few quid’ at all. Is it not about the way in which our industry operates and standards of journalism? Indeed, is it not about protecting the future of journalism? If the original work of journalists and, indeed, the words of interviewees where applicable, are not protected by copyright, what then? If keyboard punchers sitting in offices far removed from the subjects of stories – in this case grieving relatives – can simply steal the work of those who are practising what I understand to be proper journalism, what then? It sounds to me like PA’s tactics, if simply accepted, are a very real threat to journalism itself.
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So, cometh the hour, cometh the opportunity for a trade association to show its value. We will see if the years of subscriptions paid to NAPA by agencies like Solent have been of any value. I hope that NAPA will pursue this with the same doggedness that its best agencies pursue an exclusive. If it does I will be proud to continue to admit to being a former chairman of NAPA!
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Ha, my comment was deleted. Did it upset someone at PA? Good on you Solent, glad someone is taking this stance.
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