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Why is Huffington’s attribution any different than Frontburner reusing/recycling content from DMN and other local sources?

Wasn’t this topic the one that Moroney was bitching about in Washington recently. Huffington and others may claim that they can post news with a mere 60-person staff, but they’re relying on the hundreds of soldiers out in the field that are working for the daily papers. In return, the papers are receiving little if any financial compensation for their providing Huffington, Google and others.

Something has to change.

Joe,
Good idea. Locally, I’m not sure how D Magazine’s Web sites would be to pay for all of the content they borrow.

@kelly

You’ll have to pardon D-Dirt’s slamming of outsourced reporting, which its parent widely practices, too.

Frontburner is also on an anti-outsourcing kick, so I assume D Publishing’s chief has distributed some new talking points to his minions.

Exhibit A: http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/2009/05/20/the-new-guidelivecom-ctd.

OK, maybe I over-reacted. You all have a point: I start my day reading Google alerts on real estate from everywhere, and when they have a Dallas application, re-gurge here. But I also like to report fresh content for this blog. The problem is basically, what it always is, financial. The big guys can lift our stuff and command national ad rates — we cannot do the same by lifting their’s. I am concerned about local journalism because it is vital to a free society. Last night, I attended a cool panel discuss. on Redefining News In The Digital Age, co-sponsored by the Dallas Bar Assn and Press Club of Dallas (talk about a local story!) It was mostly whining about the way things have changed — young people don’t read newspapers, all they care about is Paris Hilton, all journalists have to do double duty these days. A comment was made (by Shawn Williams, I recall)that the public is not dumb and will ultimately discern the truth from the falsehoods, sort of a “faith in humankind to get us through this” spirit. Well, as usually happens, this morning I thought of several things I would have/could have said to those panelists and one of them is this: the public is not dumb? Then why have so many adjustable rate mortgages gotten us in hot water. Could the innate brilliance of human-kind not figure out that what goes up will ultimately come down?
Then…you got me started… then there are all these Realtors out there blogging for credibility and clients. One told me recently she writes her blog on a Sunday and programs it to post each day of the week — a blog on autopilot! Technology has of course enable this and how does John and Jane Public know that her blog, ostensibly a source of fresh knowledge (this is a very sharp Realtor), is written all on one day and then parceled out by a widget/gidget. How in this sophisticated a world can the public decide where unbiased information ends and marketing begins? I think they still need help from a trusted news establishment. But the funny thing is that, if enough locals go under, Huffington will lose a lot of it’s content. Then what will they do?

But I do apologize for over-reacting.

I guess I don’t see the allure of this house… The photos in that marketing brochure everyone stole from make it look pretty modest.