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Tulsa World Harasses Blogger

Update: I posted a link to this blog entry on the ALA Council list, and ALA President-Elect Michael Gorman responded, “Perhaps I am missing something but I cannot see why unauthorized and unremunerated reproduction of whole copyrighted articles and editorials is ‘fair use.'” I responded that to the best of my knowledge Batesline was following fair use, and pointed out that respected blogger/journalist Ed Cone thought enough of this story to repeat it on his blog. I invited Gorman to provide me with facts that proved overwise. Of course, Bates is no Michael Moore.

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The only newspaper in Tulsa, Oklahoma threatened a blogger with legal action for links and quotes that to my librarian eyes (and to many other bloggers) look to be well within fair use. I’d like to see Mary Minow tackle this issue–we need more discussion about fair use and blogging–but I feel I know my way around copyright and fair use pretty well. Tulsa World is just plain wrong, as well as dumb.

I have nothing in common with Bates (well, we are both Christian, but I think it begins and ends there–oh wait: I once drove through Oklahoma), but in my firm opinion, he’s in the right. Frankly, it wouldn’t hurt for ALA to step in with a little friend-of-the-court saber rattling at this point.

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