PA pays out to freelance agency over 'lifted' interview with father of murdered Jo Yeates

The Press Association has agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to the freelance Solent News and Photo news agency in settlement of a dispute over breach of copyright, the National Association of Press Agencies said today.

Solent News and Photo Agency, backed by NAPA, took on PA after the wire service lifted and distributed Solent's interview with the father of murder victim Jo Yeates.

PA at first rejected Solent's assertion that its copyright had been breached when PA reproduced, without permission, the agency's interview with Jo's father when it was published on the Southern Daily Echo website at the same time that the agency sent the story to national newspapers.

David Holt of Solent said: "This was never about money. It was about journalistic practice and, to some extent, the future of journalism, particularly on the internet.

"Our work seems to have been blithely copied and pasted by someone sat at a computer miles away from the subject of the story, in this case grieving relatives, and put out for consumption, apparently without a second thought.

"This wasn't a case of someone grabbing a couple of quotes. It was a wholesale lift. We had filed 237 words, the piece by PA which was published in numerous newspapers and websites was 241 words and included the attribute 'told the Southern Daily Echo,' which was of course wrong.

"There followed a series of exchanges with PA in which they first tried to argue 'there is no copyright on news' and then, without a hint of irony, tried to hide behind fair usage under copyright legislation. They refused point blank to withdraw the story.

"We ended-up head to head with PA's lawyers. They tried to tell us that they had every right, that we did not have a case and even threatened to sue us if we dared to suggest that there was anything untoward.

"With the backing of NAPA the case was referred to specialist media lawyers and we are pleased to have reached a settlement. We shall be donating the money to the Journalists' Charity."

NAPA enlisted the services of specialist IP lawyer Bill Lister of Pannone LLP, who engaged with PA's lawyers. NAPA says this intervention resulted in a full written settlement with PA in which the wire service agreed to pay Solent and NAPA's legal costs in full.

Lister said: "Solent News, supported by NAPA, made a complaint of copyright infringement against PA which has been settled entirely to the satisfaction of Solent News and NAPA. This vindicates Solent News' original complaint."

NAPA president Denis Cassidy added: "The suggestion that copy can be lifted wholesale is completely wrong and there was an important matter of principle at stake.

"We supported Solent and when they found themselves ranged against the legal might of the national wire service. NAPA was pleased to be able to back the action of one of our members."

• NAPA protests to PA over lifted agency interview
  

'Stop the national newspaper by-line bandits'

Good post by Press Gazette editor Dominic Ponsford on his blog today about the way national newspapers fail to credit news agency journalists and instead give by-lines to their own staff.

Dominic notes that many of the award winning entries in the NAPA news agency awards last Friday carried staffers by-lines.

He says: "Very few of the agency journalists who supplied the stories are credited in the national publications which their work appeared in.

"Exclusive of the year, for example, went to London Media Press’s Andrew Buckwell for his story about London Mayor Boris Johnson finding himself at the centre of a wealthy socialite’s paternity riddle. But if you look at the Daily Mail cutting to accompany his entry you will see no sign of his byline on it.

"The same is true for Ben Ellery’s ‘spec’ news story of the year – an interview with the boyfriend of murdered architect Jo Yeates. Four bylines appear on the Daily Mail story which was based on his work – but none of them are his. He is also not credited in the Daily Mirror, which also carried the piece."

Ellery, works for Solent News and Pictures, which complained in January that an interview with Jo Yeates' father was lifted by PA, after Solent supplied it to the Southern Daily Echo in Southampton, and went out under a different by-line.

Lawyers have been involved, but I understand the issue will be settled shortly.

Dominic's blog concludes: "Bylines should provide transparency and accountability. Let’s start using them with a bit more honesty."

• At one time the Daily Star gave a monthly cash prize to the news agency journalist who supplied the best story. A good pat on the back for the too often unsung heroes of journalism.
• Surrey Advertiser reporter Melanie Hall has tweeted: "Agreed, but it would also be good if the news agencies gave credit to the local papers they rip stories off from wholesale."

BBC governors were 'gutless bastards' says Dyke

Former BBC director-general Greg Dyke did not disguise his bitterness about the way the BBC governors accepted his resignation over the "sexed-up" dossier affair, rather than stand up to the Tony Blair government, when speaking at the National Association of Press Agencies awards in London last night.

Dyke quipped that if he was still the director-general he would be praising the governors but now he could say some of them had acted like "gutless bastards".

He also claimed that his Nemesis, Blair's press secretary Alastair Campbell, "had changed the relationship between journalists and politicians for ever."

Dyke voiced his concern about the how the economic model that paid for good quality, independent journalism was being eroded in the digital age. He said viewers of television news were now predominantly aged over 50 while "the young are getting their news elsewhere, if at all."

He said: "Every newspaper editor I know is gloomy about the future." Dyke added: "Good independent journalism matters" but the big question was who will fund it in the future?

Dyke, who when he started out as a local newspaper journalist did Saturday shifts at the Cassidy and Leigh news agency, suggested that tv journalist who "wait around for stories" could "learn a lot from spending a few weeks on a news agency where finding stories is the lifeblood."

NAPA ward winners were:

Exclusive story of the year: Andrew Buckwell, London Media Press.
Spec news/sport story: Ben Ellery, Solent News and pictures.
Feature Story of the Year: Marissa Charles, Splash News, and Liam Miller, Barcroft Media.
Picture of the Year: Adam Gasson, South West News.
Picture of the Year (Rest of the World): William Cherry, Press Eye.
Sports Picture of the Year: Carl Recine Action Images.
Special Award: William Cherry, Press Eye.
Kevin Fitzpatrick Award (journalist under 25): Aaron Sharp, Mercury Press.

There were lifetime achievement awards for NAPA president Denis Cassidy and Welsh freelance Derek Bellis.

Pic: Jon Slattery