NPR is learning the cost of trying to ban un-registered links to its page: a storm of protest, bad press, and — of course — additional unregistered links.
Quoth the NPR Ombudsman:
“… NPR does not refuse links but it just wants to make sure that the links are appropriate to a noncommercial and journalistic organization.”
That’s not your call, any more than its the call of someone whom you are quoting in a news story to determine whether your quotations are appropriate to what sort of person or orgainzation they purport to be.
“We wouldn’t want a commercial outfit to use us in any way they pleased.”
What sort of ways are you envisioning? Your material is still copyrighted — use of the material beyond established Fair Use doctrine is already actionable.
He acknowledged that some commercial sites link to NPR — Yahoo, for instance — but “they have an underwriting relationship with us,” he said.
Aha. Here’s the meat of the matter, perhaps. If you don’t underwrite, you shouldn’t be linking. Well, folks, there’s a simple way around that — make yourself a pay site. Others have (albeit with mixed success).
It isn’t only commercial activity that concerns NPR. Asked if a link from someone’s noncommercial homepage would bother the company, Dvorkin said: “It depends on your homepage — what if you’re an advocate for left-handed socialist diabetics? We wouldn’t want to give support to advocacy groups.”
You report news. Information. If there is information that someone wants to use to advocate a point, that’s not your worry, is it? Indeed, don’t you want folks talking about something they heard on NPR?
Heck, do you propose that libraries not allow anyone to check out books because they could be used to advocate a particular position?
Don’t you, in fact, in addition to news, run commentary pieces that advocate certain positions?
What the hell does this mean?
“It’s part of keeping our integrity that our journalism remain noncommercial, and we’re not engaged in advocacy in any way,” Dvorkin explained.
If you are so afraid of a commercial site somehow profiting from a link to your page, or that someone might quote (or link to) an NPR article to advocate some position or another — then get the hell off the web. Heck, better shut down your broadcasts, too.
Still, NPR will continue to require that every site — whether it’s commercial or not, advocates a position or doesn’t — still ask permission. Why? “Because we want to keep track of who’s doing it — so says our law department.”
There’s this great device called “Google”? Maybe you’ve heard of it. Or perhaps your referrer logs could be used — the guys down in IT can explain that, too.
What about the folks who link without registering?
“Well, they’ll have to live with the guilt forever,” Dvorkin said, only half-jokingly. “I don’t think we’re going to chase them down into county court. But (seeking permission) is a matter of respect and honor for what we’re trying to do here.”
Since I don’t respect or honor this sort of intrusiveness, I guess that means I don’t have to do it, right?
Jerks.
(Via Boing Boing)