Controversy on two fronts. Eight of the big regional press agencies are complaining that newspapers are paying them too little for stories they run online. Several years ago, the National Association of Press Agencies agreed to reduce fees due for the wire copy because papers’ web services were “embryonic”. But now some of the agencies are complaining the amount – which can be 30 percent the fee paid for use of articles in print – is too low. NAPA VP Chris Johnson: “This is not a viable business model … the payment holiday is over.” NAPA is discussing the issue with publishers but there is no resolution yet. Via Journalism.co.uk.
Meanwhile, editors may also face fire for running personal information web users have published online. In stories such as that of murdered traveler Meredith (NYSE: MDP) Kircher and the Bridgend suicides, reporters have mined profiles on social nets like Facebook for facts, contacts and photos (this example from Telegraph.co.uk). But the practice raises ethical, privacy and copyright concerns and Press Complaints Commission director Tim Toulmin told BBC Radio 4 it had begun to receive more complaints. It has commissioned Ipsos/Mori to gauge web users’ views and could introduce new guidelines, although it also stresses users’ responsibility to make their own material private.