Old Media Rules Allegedly Prevent Crediting Competitors

It's not exactly news to anyone that print media can sometimes get a story from a blog and "forget" to credit the original source. Maybe they just haven't learned how to hyperlink yet! Most recently the NY Post picked up a story without crediting blogger Miss Heather. Nieman Journalism Lab reports that when she "uncovered a major zoning violation in her Brooklyn neighborhood last month, it was only natural that the New York Post would pick up the story. But credit the blogger? That would be a violation of policy."

According to reporter Alex Ginsberg, the paper prohibits crediting blogs and other competitors for scoops; he told his muse, Miss H: “Post policy prevented me from crediting you in print. Allow me to do so now. You did a fantastic reporting job. All I had to do was follow your steps (and make a few extra phone calls). The rule is this: if every detail, fact and quote can be independently verified, then we don’t have to credit anyone.”

Suzi Halpin, a spokeswoman for the Post, insists, "The New York Post credits blogs, bloggers, and other media all the time, as our readers know." Like when Curbed wrote about the Jeff Koons emerald on a private terrace that had been there for over two years, and the Post just happened to pick the story up the next day with no mention of the website.

By Jen Carlson in News on September 4, 2009 3:42 PM 8 Comments 5 Likes Likes