Michelle Malkin » Hey, Associated Press: You owe me at least $132,125!

Hey, Associated Press: You owe me at least $132,125!

By Michelle Malkin • June 17, 2008 10:37 PM

The Internet firestorm over the Associated Press’s heavy-handed attempt to bully bloggers over fair use article excerpts has been absolutely schadenfreude-licious. Now, it’s time to turn the tables. If your blog or blog commenters have ever been quoted by the AP, listen up: It’s time to prepare a bill and demand payment.

First, a quick recap: AP showered a left-wing site with cease-and-desist letters, prompting many political and tech sites to boycott AP content. The latest uproar involves the AP’s pricing scheme charging bloggers $2.50/word and then scaling for excerpt usage. Here’s a screenshot of the media giant’s web usage agreement:

So they wanna play that game?

Ok, let’s play. Tongue planted firmly in cheek, of course. Unlike the AP, bloggers appreciate getting linked and excerpted. That is how we roll in the 21st century.

But let’s apply AP standards for the hell of it. I have found two recent examples of the AP quoting from this blog without linking to the quoted posts or obtaining my consent for a usage agreement. In April, AP quoted from the comment thread in this post about Absolut’s Aztlan vodka ad:

More than a dozen calls to boycott Absolut were posted on michellemalkin.com, a Web site operated by conservative columnist Michelle Malkin. The ads sparked heated comment on a half-dozen other Internet sites and blogs.

“In an Absolut world, a company that produces vodka fires its entire marketing department in a desperate attempt to win back enraged North American customers after a disastrous ad campaign backfires,” a person using the moniker “SalsaNChips” wrote on Malkin’s Web site.

That’s 42 words. Cha-ching-ching-ching.

In May, AP again quoted from this blog, excerpting the column I posted online about the keffiyeh kerfuffle:

The kaffiyeh, Malkin wrote in a column posted online last Friday, “has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad. Popularized by Yasser Arafat and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos, the apparel has been mainstreamed by both ignorant (and not-so-ignorant) fashion designers, celebrities, and left-wing icons.”

That’s 44 words. Cha-ching-ching-ching.

According to the AP, it has:

-1,700 U.S. daily, weekly, non-English and college newspapers;

-5,000 radio and television outlets taking AP services; and

- 850 AP Radio News audio affiliates.

Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that half of all those clients published the AP dispatches quoting this blog’s content without prior usage agreement (which would be 3,775) and let’s apply the exact same fee structure AP wants to impose on the blogosphere ($17.50 for 26-50 words). I calculate that the AP owes me:

$66,062.50 x 2 = $132,125.

(A substantial portion of that sum would go to commenter SalsaNChips, of course. See? Commenting at MichelleMalkin.com pays! Well, theoretically.)

There may be other articles that quoted blog content from MichelleMalkin.com and HotAir.com. I’m keeping a look out.

And there are a few other bloggers quoted recently by AP who should consider sending joke bills, too.

Take Patterico, whose enterprising work on the Judge Kozinski case I mentioned this morning. The AP quoted from one of his blog posts just yesterday. Sample:

A federal appeals court judge under scrutiny for sexually explicit videos and photos posted on a personal Web site is the victim of distortions and “outright lies” published by the Los Angeles Times, his wife charged Monday.
Marcy Jane Tiffany, wife of 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, described some of the material stored on the home computer as raunchy and juvenile. Only about a half-dozen files among hundreds had a “sexual aspect,” but they were not pornography, she said.

“Alex is not into porn — he is into funny — and sometimes funny has a sexual character,” Tiffany wrote in a nearly 2,000-word defense of her husband, posted on a Web site called patterico.com.

And it goes on. Writes Patterico tonight:

In a news item about the e-mail from Judge Kozinski’s wife that I posted on this site, an AP article lifted numerous passages.

I counted 154 words quoted from my post. That’s almost twice the number of words contained in the most extensive quotation in the Drudge Retort.

So am I going to be an ass and threaten to charge them, or sue them, or demand that they remove the quotes? Of course not. They benefited from my content and I benefited from their link.

If he did decide to send a bill under the terms of my table-turning fee structure, that would be:

$50 per URL= 3,775 x $50=$188,750.

Dude. That’s a hefty windfall. Sure you don’t wanna reconsider?

More potential blogger debt collectors:

*The Stranger blog
*Actress/blogger Zhang Ziyi
*The Huffington Post
*Musician/blogger Pete Wentz
*A blogger at Glamocracy
*An American Idol fan blogger

If your blog content/comment threads have been quoted by the AP, let me know what your bill would be. If you’d like to design/photoshop a generic joke bill or AP usage agreement plan that we can fill in and send to AP, please feel free to send along!

MSM thuggery is the disease. Mockery is the best medicine.

***

The blogosphere lets it rip:

From Jim Lynch: “Going beyond what has already been reported, the AP has expanded their current position and announced that they now own the rights to all words, phrases and letters of the alphabet, and will be charging bloggers accordingly.” Triple-snort!

Ace of Spades: “Here’s my counter-offer: I will limit the the words actually quoted from AP stories, limiting myself to paraphrase and direct quotes of relevant officials. (AP can’t copyright someone else’s words — at best, they can pitch an unfair trade practices beef, but that’s a harder case to make.) Furthermore, I will no longer provide any links to any AP stories anywhere, and in fact may not even bother to mention the story comes from AP. I will cite instead a “news organization.” If AP wants a link, it can begin paying me $25.00 per link. I charge for advertising. There’s my counter-offer. It’s not negotiable.”

DoublePlusUndead: Fun with ellipses!

Charles Johnson: “If they plan to enforce this mind-bogglingly stupid policy, it will be interesting to see what happens with sites like Digg.com — which are nothing but excerpts from news articles, with hundreds of AP stories being posted every day.”

Via Brian at Snapped Shot, who has been entangled in his own blogger battle with AP:

AP has managed to bring left and right bloggers together like never before. Check out Memeorandum:

Macsmind’s tab: $6,300.

Sticky Notes devises a handy quote-a-meter to help you calculate how much you’ll owe AP if you excerpt them. Still looking for someone to make one of these for AP to calculate how much they owe us.

Bob Owens: Where’s my fact-checking fee? Har.

Posted in: Blogosphere, New York Times

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#1

On June 17th, 2008 at 10:40 pm, tomk59 said:

You go, girl. But why do it tongue in cheek? Have your attorney send it.
#2

On June 17th, 2008 at 10:45 pm, ajmontana said:

salsaNchips just had a delayed stroke… cha chingy ding ding…. lmao
#3

On June 17th, 2008 at 10:45 pm, brooklyn red said:

I second that! Go for it!
#4

On June 17th, 2008 at 10:46 pm, Goldwater Knight said:

I say have a pizza party with that dough!
#5

On June 17th, 2008 at 10:46 pm, tpro1 said:

MM, does the AP want you and the rest of the bloggers to stop using their content, or are they serious? It seems a bit pompous to me.
#6

On June 17th, 2008 at 10:46 pm, Christian Soldier said:

A whole new world for advocacy attorneys>>>>protecting right wing bloggers!!!

We could call it the FREEDOM ACTION GROUP!
#7

On June 17th, 2008 at 10:47 pm, Christian Soldier said:

BTW>>>I third it:

MM- go for it!
#8

On June 17th, 2008 at 10:51 pm, americangrunthog said:

AP gangsterism continues.

Thanks for putting it in perspective for those who aren’t in the intellectual property business. I get tired of dealing with this nonsense in my business and hope they choke on a big fat bill compliments of Malkin et al.
#9

On June 17th, 2008 at 10:56 pm, nbarry said:

Go for it, Michelle. Seriously. The AP, as a wire service, has long tried to position itself beyond having to answer to both its content and practices. It needs to be lassoed back to the land of the living.
#10

On June 17th, 2008 at 10:57 pm, Christian Soldier said:

Do you think that my favorite cartoonist —M. Ramirez….would charge me for this?:

http://www.investors.com/editorial/cartoon.asp

HMMM I don’t think so.

A little off topic but—no–I don’t think so..
CS
#11

On June 17th, 2008 at 10:58 pm, khan said:

This is hilarious. I hate the AP.
#12

On June 17th, 2008 at 11:00 pm, brooklyn red said:

It is going to be hard not to use those 2 letters… seems like bull cr** to me… well that wasn’t so hard after all…
#13

On June 17th, 2008 at 11:03 pm, its vintage duh said:

My solution is to quote the AP, but only quote four words, so I don’t have to pay.

But I am choosing which words to use.

It’s fun.
#14

On June 17th, 2008 at 11:08 pm, josetheguerilla said:

Dude. That’s a hefty windfall. Sure you don’t wanna reconsider?

LOL!!!!!!!
#15

On June 17th, 2008 at 11:09 pm, LaMonte said:

Michelle,
Mockery is a good tool to puncture buffoons — but this is a serious problem requiring more serious additional efforts. Other than reporting errors [factual and business] of the Associated Press, why not ignore their product? There are several other news-services and more original sources
#16

On June 17th, 2008 at 11:12 pm, The Ugly American said:

The blogosphere lets it rip:

Here’s my contribution…
#17

On June 17th, 2008 at 11:23 pm, LC said:

This reminds me of when the powers-that-be at Google decided that they didn’t like people using their brand name as a verb - i.e. to Google = to search, “I don’t know, Google it!”

It never seemed to make sense to me. I mean, why would you NOT want someone repeating your company’s name at all times? This situation seems to apply just as well - why prohibit others from linking to your content on the internet? To do so would be the same as admitting to the world that you had no idea what the Internet was all about.
#18

On June 17th, 2008 at 11:40 pm, RThomasETC said:

That’s hilarious. Can I charge MSNBC? … The Boston Globe?

I think I should charge them more maybe :).
#19

On June 17th, 2008 at 11:41 pm, Tantor said:

It looks like all the fast bloggers have already gotten copyrights on the best words in the dictionary but there are a lot of words in the back which were missed. I paid $56.35 for the word “zephyr” and $29.99 for “xylophone.” Everybody who uses these words owes me a nickel each time.
#20

On June 17th, 2008 at 11:42 pm, Jeddite said:

Good stuff!
#21

On June 17th, 2008 at 11:48 pm, Goldwater Knight said:

Michelle you should just take an advance of $5,000,000; that’ll cut out the red tape.

PS: I’ll get 10% for the idea.
#22

On June 17th, 2008 at 11:53 pm, thatselbert said:

I guess I’ll have to wait to become a big time blogger before I can send them a bill. I could really use the money right now. GO GET THEM MICHELLE!!!!
#23

On June 18th, 2008 at 12:03 am, love2rumba said:

Michelle, you bill ‘em girl!

yeah!
#24

On June 18th, 2008 at 12:06 am, nyc123me said:

If you have RSS newsfeeds published on your personal site, I suggest you remove them. If they have a story you wish to write about, it’ll be discussed on other news services too, so just link to alternative sources. AP can go copulate with themselves. The AP in-house lawyer that come up with this idea needs to be kicked in the butt.
#25

On June 18th, 2008 at 12:10 am, ThackerAgency said:

The AP is so ridiculous here. The blogosphere should just boycott everything that the AP does on the internet. They would be a part of the ‘epic fail’ segment.

Non-internet people don’t seem to realize the value of linking, and getting people to link. They still consider it in terms of ‘mine mine mine’. The internet isn’t an island - it’s the opposite of an island. If you want to be an island you are hampering your progress.

Everybody should just boycott the AP and they’ll become like the dinosaurs.
#26

On June 18th, 2008 at 12:28 am, nyc123me said:

Anyone work for an ISP? How about blocking their servers - just in case they try to sue you for transmitting their content.
Idiots.
#27

On June 18th, 2008 at 12:29 am, its vintage duh said:

Hey Michelle! Thanks for the link!
#28

On June 18th, 2008 at 1:02 am, Rusty said:

LC, I understand why Google didn’t want their brand reduced to a verb. I have a DVR and my friends still say we’re Tivoing something. Losing brand identity hurts.

Bravo post, Mrs. Malkin. Well played.
#29

On June 18th, 2008 at 1:32 am, wild thing2 said:

Great idea Michelle! hahaa I love your idea!
#30

On June 18th, 2008 at 1:43 am, Land that I Love said:

Ha. This is great.
#31

On June 18th, 2008 at 1:51 am, mom2jack said:

I paid $56.35 for the word “zephyr” and $29.99 for “xylophone.” Everybody who uses these words owes me a nickel each time.

Considering Xylophone is the only word children’s book writers can come up with for the letter X, I think you paid wisely.
#32

On June 18th, 2008 at 2:46 am, puhiawa said:

Genius!
#33

On June 18th, 2008 at 3:31 am, Mark said:

On the Google thing, I remember watching hearings on Capitol Hill and seeing Xerox people reminding Congressmen that Xerox was a Noun and not a Verb. They kept saying have this Xeroxed.

Anyone else find it a bit creepy that the AP is seeking forgiveness by meeting a with a marginal — and left wing I believe — group? (Media Bloggers Association, who I am sure won’t have me) It’s like Imus meeting with the nappy headed hos to apoligize for comparing them to a basketball team. Oh wait, reverse that.

and who the he** ask them to represent me? I didn’t!

Free Bloggers Unite — fight the power!
#34

On June 18th, 2008 at 4:07 am, bird said:

…busy scouring the English alphabet for occurences of “ap” anywhere, by anyone…

I read about this issue day before yesterday and, honestly, thought it would expire amidst internet arguing but this latest position by AP is truly embarrassing. I was not aware that a wire service assumed a position in our world of being able to create and wage “laws” at will.

Policy is one thing but AP seems to have just lost it’s mind.
#35

On June 18th, 2008 at 4:15 am, bird said:

AP should consider taking it’s content to subscriber only. That means, no one can reprint anything by AP anywhere, just ~read it~.”

Unfortunately, when printed copy existed in limited edition hardcopy (books, sheets of paper otherwise, inscribed on privately owned tablets, etc.), there was control over “reprinting” any part or whole of those, but, now that printing has both blossomed into access by anyone who can buy a reproduction, and now the internet, there’s no way anyone can limit anyone else from copying and pasting, so to speak.

The decent blogger (most who publish under their own identities and who remain in time with their own domains) attributes sources, so, in that, AP ought to be paying bloggers (I agree with you, Michelle).

What AP WANTS, however, is to penalize those who even accredit AP because there’s no way they (or anyone) can prove with a certainty that anyone else who “may copy” and “may paste” anything from AP anywhere else, has actually done that (there could be layers of sources copying/pasting, is my point, impossible to prove without a lot of subpoenas to a lot of service providers for so much as a few lines here and there at any one time).

Thus, I think AP’s objective is a punitive one. They don’t want their material copied/pasted or even attributed. Fine, then, ignore AP. Because if most people don’t read AP content on the INTERNET, where else do they read it? Answer is, nowhere to few other places.
#36

On June 18th, 2008 at 4:24 am, bird said:

LaMonte said:
…why not ignore their product? There are several other news-services and more original sources

I’ve read REUTERS called “the Al Queada Network” (or related) so, there’s that.

Most of the content used everywhere else is originated by the wire services, and, when the wire services are tainted, so to speak, it pretty well affirms that the “mainstream media” is, indeed, polarized for political reasons and most of those rather dubious reasons, I tend to think.

Can’t say why, never looked into who, exactly, edits and assigns and to whom (hiring whom, why, etc.).

BUT, I do know that a lot of the reason why Europe tends toward an “anti-American” perspective, as to Moderates and Conservatives here (U.S.A.) is because they are nearly entirely subject to a Liberal media that frames issues in highly antagonistic terms to “middle America,” or, “Conservatives” and Moderates.

We have Talk Radio and to a great degree, FOX News (though I do think FOX has drifted Left in the last two years) and blogs to counter certain issues, but Europe largely just has the internet. When internet “news” is created, also, then, by Leftwing bias, without other sources, the audience is then also biased.

AP does seem to have undue need to target and unduly pressure the blogosphere. Question is, why.
#37

On June 18th, 2008 at 4:59 am, AlohaGuy said:

Dude

Dude, you’ve gone Southern Cal on us. Gnarley idea though.

Feel free to quote me anytime.
#38

On June 18th, 2008 at 6:43 am, zorro said:

I think AP has hatched this scheme just to fund their terrorist stringers…
#39

On June 18th, 2008 at 7:03 am, Die Hippie, Die said:

We could call it the FREEDOM ACTION GROUP!

Bad idea. The Film Actors Group has dibs on the acronym.
#40

On June 18th, 2008 at 7:14 am, Lockstein13 said:

HEY MICHELLE:

It pays to think positively. Finally, we’ll not only understand the meaning, but the value, of what “is” is! Heh.
#41

On June 18th, 2008 at 7:22 am, Mark said:

Infoworld seems to have little regard for bloggers. Oh well I have little regard for them

http://weblog.infoworld.com/robertxcringely/archives/2008/06/bloggers_to_ap.html
#42

On June 18th, 2008 at 7:35 am, ajmontana said:

I will cite instead a “news organization.”

You can cut this down to ‘*NO’
#43

On June 18th, 2008 at 8:15 am, tre said:

Okay, Michelle, I need to tell you I’ve copywrited the following words: Dude, Moonbat, Liberal, Conservative, and RINO. So now, everytime you use one of those words you owe me $100.

Just have your people call my people to work out the details.
#44

On June 18th, 2008 at 8:33 am, DesertLover said:

It is obvious that since they can’t sell newspapers they are trying to use this as a way to replace all that lost revenue and keep their worthless excuse of a business afloat …

As for what to call them … how about a Native American reference … call the SWFTO’s … Speak With Forked Tongue Organizations …
#45

On June 18th, 2008 at 8:38 am, William Teach said:

I’ve copywrited barking, tre, so, you just be careful!

It will be interesting to see how the MSM sources such as MSNBC, CNN, NY Times, Wash Post, etc, who use AP stories will react when interwebz traffic drops as bloggers, folks at Digg, Drudge Retort, etc, look for other sources, such as al Reuters direct, AFP, and so on.

Will the advertisers abandon them? Why advertise when the traffic drops?
#46

On June 18th, 2008 at 8:50 am, Boomer said:

Tantor #19 I just can’t resist “zephyr” and “xylophone.” I just couldn’t help myself, but don’t worry the check is in the mail. Or is that one of the 3 biggest lies? Besides an old tanker guy should never miss an opportunity to mess with an old F-4 EWO.

The AP is “ate up with the dumbass” as we used to say during my active duty days. If they really want to get ugly with the copyright business they will find themselves paying out more than they would ever take in. I don’t think there are many in the MSM with an original thought in their heads when you look at the group think of most modern Journalism Schools. The new media may find itself significantly richer thanks to the old dying dinosaur media. Find a good lawyer and show them no mercy Michelle!
#47

On June 18th, 2008 at 8:57 am, WalterMitty said:

By all means charge them for the work, but double their price list at a minumum.

After all, Michelle Malkin LLC is a brand with Value. Quoting some public servant [sic] or deranged moonbat that nobody’s heard of (a la AP) only adds the value inherent in any AP product, (read somewhere between liberal Demagoguery and claptrap).
#48

On June 18th, 2008 at 8:58 am, single stack said:

Whaddya mean “joke bills” Michelle? Send ‘em a real bill and let ‘em choke on it.
#49

On June 18th, 2008 at 9:29 am, Cameron said:

OK, I just got off the phone with my attorney. I have successfully purchased the rights to the letters R and E. I’m currently in negotiations for two consonants yet to be named.

Now where’s my check?
#50

On June 18th, 2008 at 9:34 am, burnt toast said:

This is EXACTLY why the blogosphere rules, no matter which side of the political divide you fall upon. Great job everyone!!
#51

On June 18th, 2008 at 9:35 am, GOPGin said:

I work in intellectual property & I’m currently purchasing the rights to the letters W, T, F and the punctuation “?”

WTF?
#52

On June 18th, 2008 at 9:40 am, TheBigOldDog said:

Listen up budding entrepreneurs. Want to make some money and be your own boss? Launch a site that acts as the billing agency for blogs quoted by AP. Let the bloggers come, submit their “proof of excerpt”, calculate the charges based on AP’s own scale, and send them the bill and collect. Dun them if they don’t pay and hire a lawyer/collection agency as necessary to force payment. Charge the bloggers a percentage, say 15% if AP pays within 90 days and 40% if collection requires legal action.
#53

On June 18th, 2008 at 9:49 am, trappedinnj said:

sooo…f.u.a.p is only $12.50? sounds like a bargain.
#54

On June 18th, 2008 at 9:50 am, Right_Wired said:

I don’t think you should joke about this. If I were you, I’d really go after them for the full amount due.

Nothing stinks quite like hypocrisy. Send ‘em to the cleaners!
#55

On June 18th, 2008 at 9:51 am, American Elephant said:

AP isn’t exactly a nonpartisan group. Does anyone think their action has anything to do with the election? Try to prevent the stories they don’t want to get further attention from getting further attention?
#56

On June 18th, 2008 at 9:59 am, William Teach said:

I doubt it, American Elephant. Port side bloggers and sources are being nailed, too. Remember, this pretty much started with the Drudge Retort, a liberal site, getting cease and desist orders from the AP.

About the only one in the clear is the Huffington Post, which has a deal with the AP.
#57

On June 18th, 2008 at 10:09 am, DaveC said:

in retail stores in Michigan, if you buy a product that the label is different from the purchase price, you get the difference back up to 5 bucks..

Can that same principal be applied to the AP?

any factually wrong or misquoted report, they pay you?
#58

On June 18th, 2008 at 10:41 am, sfcmac said:

Michelle,
Hilarious, and so true!

The word nazis at the AP can add me to their list, since I’ve cited some of their articles on my webpage, as well.

I’ve a feeling that their hissy-fit litigation won’t go very far, especially when other news media and bloggers are all over this like stink on crap.

If it can be cut and pasted it’s fair use, as long as proper credit is given to the news or authored source as a link.

It’s a known fact that staff writers for news outlets simply re-write information to expand the content and in the AP’s case, show bias.

There’s just no limit to the arrogant gall at the AP.

Paying for recycled verbiage?

Good luck with that, AP.
#59

On June 18th, 2008 at 10:41 am, flutejpl said:

I say send the Asinine Press the bill. Your work is worth that kind of remuneration, after all.

Why doesn’t the Awful Press just put advertisements on their site like everyone else does? That way, when someone provides a “fair use” quote and adds a link to the full article, every time someone goes to read the whole thing, they get traffic. When they get more traffic, they can raise their advertising rates! It seems to me like they’re missing a huge opportunity there, and it’s certainly the fairest way for them to be paid for their work.

Does the Acrimonious Press stay advertisement free to provide the illusion of impartiality? If so, they’re fooling none of us.
#60

On June 18th, 2008 at 10:41 am, srhoades said:

Hey SalsaNChips,
Remember that time, at band camp, when I helped you out with that thing. And then we raided the girls’ camp and I saved you from getting hit by a tuba? Help a brother out, man.
#61

On June 18th, 2008 at 10:43 am, Salt said:

I am amused that AP did the nearly impossible: united both right and left wing blogs against a common foe. Heck, not even Islamic terrorists have been able to do that.

Who would have thought that we’d have something in common with dKos?

Next thing you know, lgm will be on here agreeing with Michelle’s post.

“…dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria! “
#62

On June 18th, 2008 at 10:45 am, Craig said:

Associated Priss. Cognitive dysentery raised to a new level.
#63

On June 18th, 2008 at 11:01 am, Christopher Estep said:

I don’t think the bills should be “joke bills”. Few bloggers have the presence of Michelle Malkin and I’d love to see a serious pressure by this site to pay that bill and a cease and desist of her own, ending only when the Associated Press acknowledges fair use.

I bet this is also one of the few cases where the ultra-liberal EFF would join in. They’re very big on Fair Use.
#64

On June 18th, 2008 at 11:03 am, meatpieandtatters said:

The AP just doesn’t like all the alt-AP (Alternate Press) getting all the attention. The AP are a bunch of pansies.
#65

On June 18th, 2008 at 11:17 am, SalsaNChips said:

Hey!

Does this mean AP owns me $77.50 for the 31 words I wrote which they quoted in their article?

Where do I send the bill?

LOL
#66

On June 18th, 2008 at 11:31 am, SalsaNChips said:

“$66,062.50 x 2 = $132,125.

(A substantial portion of that sum would go to commenter SalsaNChips, of course. See? Commenting at MichelleMalkin.com pays! Well, theoretically.)

YIKES! Just saw this — hey, let me know if they need to know where to send the check!
#67

On June 18th, 2008 at 11:35 am, John Ansell said:

AP= Absolute Priceless.
#68

On June 18th, 2008 at 11:36 am, Dimsdale said:

Michelle,

I think you should use the Scrabble (R) (T) (whatever) point system, substituting dollars for point value when calculating what to charge crAP. It is established by a disinterested third party and everyone can play!

It might increase the use of polysyllabic words and enhance spelling skills too!
#69

On June 18th, 2008 at 11:49 am, Brian72 said:

If I could claim ownership to all variations of crAPtacular, crAPtastic, crAPerriffic, crAPomungus, crAPorama, even crAPplause, my bank account would swell crAPtionentially in an Obama administration, slightly less under a McCain administration. Too bad that all that income is obscene and unfair.

By the way, Could crAP press go after Allahpundit for his abbreviated moniker?

Better give him a headsup, Michelle.
#70

On June 18th, 2008 at 11:51 am, Mister P said:

This is a war the AP can not win. They are now obsolete. Go Blogs.
#71

On June 18th, 2008 at 12:03 pm, in_awe said:

Now, if only I could get the Orange County Register to stop printing AP stories I’d be a happy man…
#72

On June 18th, 2008 at 12:38 pm, Southpaw said:

AP = Absurb Position

In a related bit of Internet dumbness, I had a domain name registerd from the early years of the internet. When time came to renew the name, the domain registration company sent the notice to the wrong address. I didn’t notice and the registration expired.
The name was immediately snatched up by a company (Russians, I think) and warehoused. The wanted me to pay $500 to get the name back. I refused and simply changed my domain name from .com to .net, heh heh. They still have to pay to warehouse the .com name, idiots.

I think a new extension should be created for people like that and the AP: .stu(pid)
BTW, I now own the copyright to .stu(pid), please send all checks to my account in Nigeria.
#73

On June 18th, 2008 at 2:07 pm, right_on said:

Just when the Marxist idiologues make it in to Upper Management, the blog sites “steal” their thunder…DOH!!!

Someone, hit the panic button!!! “Why, we get paid to propagandize…bloggers don’t!!! This isn’t fair!! I know…let’s charge them a fee for quoting our production! Yeah…yeah! That’s the ticket!”

Did AP cover the MoveOn(little doggies).org flap regarding the use of their logo? Have they learned nothing?

Hey…AP…”here’s your sign.” (I hope I’m not charged for using that phrase!)
#74

On June 18th, 2008 at 2:08 pm, mom2jack said:

AP= ~~Absolute~~ Absolutely ~~Priceless~~ Pathetic.

There, that’s better.

I’ve copywrited barking, tre, so, you just be careful!

As a copywriter, I think you mean copyrighted
#75

On June 18th, 2008 at 2:28 pm, Barry F. said:

Bob Owens: Where’s my fact-checking fee? Har.

Obviously, Bob wants to see the MSM go belly-up.
#76

On June 18th, 2008 at 3:01 pm, Tantor said:

I’ve just copyrighted the phrase “Leave a comment.” All of you commenters now owe me 85 cents apiece. I’m letting you off easy because you’re fellow Michelle Malkin readers. However, over at Daily Kos, I’m gonna skin the commenters there.
#77

On June 18th, 2008 at 4:37 pm, The Tick said:

Absolutely brilliant. There’s nothing like putting the shoe on the other foot to make a point.
#78

On June 18th, 2008 at 5:59 pm, diaphanous said:

Send them a bill, Michelle!

AP - Always Pointless
#79

On June 18th, 2008 at 6:48 pm, emjem24 said:

Is there anything that AP reports worth “quoting” or using?

Does AP know that stealing intellectual property (especially that of bloggers) is a no no?

When will AP own up to the reality that bloggers are reporting on the stories (and doing AP’s job) that they’re not doing?

You bet, Michelle… start sending a bill…. can you cut the check between all of us commenters too?
#80

On June 18th, 2008 at 7:47 pm, Soliel said:

Man, they sure know how to ruin the fun.
#81

On June 18th, 2008 at 7:54 pm, AlohaGuy said:

I have copyrighted the phrase “self-hating”, and am willing to license it to MM. Dudette, we’ll both be gnarley rich.
#82

On June 18th, 2008 at 7:55 pm, Michael said:

While I appreciate the attampts at humor from all the commentors above who want a crack at Michelle’s money, this “new tone” by AP opens up many a can of worms.

For starters, what if Michelle writes a newspaper column that takes a quote from an AP story and decides to place a reprint of it on this site? Would “fair use” in the print media overrule the payment due for the blog post? How about if Michelle uses the quote on FOX News?

On another front, as a dittohead I know Rush Limbaugh has quoted extensively from AP stories, again under “fair use”. Will the AP send him a bill if he reprints a transcript of the monologue on his website?

These questions definitely don’t seem to be covered because many of the major players in the blogosphere are also employed as providers in other areas of media; Malkin and Limbaugh are just two examples of this cross-medium phenomenon.

Obviously, I toil with a much smaller sphere of influence but this decision by the AP could affect me even more. For example, my local paper has been known to do “hybrid” stories where the hometown reporter adds items to an AP story that detail a local angle of some sort. If I take the quote from a local paper on such a story, would I still be liable to the AP?

Another question arises on simply linking to a story without quotation. You’re still using the story to make an argument, so in theory either one of two outcomes is possible: there’s no charge because you’re not directly quoting from the story; or, you’d be charged for every word even if you only cared about a couple sentences. I can only guess which way the AP would decide on that question.

Michelle properly notes that bloggers like me enjoy being linked - in my case, I also crosspost on occasion between three other websites, Elbert’s (#22) happens to be one of them. Would liability fall equally among all crossposted blogsites or just on the originating site, and how would they know which site originated the post? As another example, I can post to Red Maryland first then come back to my home site, or vice versa.

I know the AP is looking to fatten their bottom line and perhaps control the dissemination of their information. But I think fair use is fair use regardless of the reprinting media. When I cite a story as part of a post, I give credit to both the source and the writer (e.g. a Baltimore Sun story by Mary Gail Hare). Conversely, if people wish to link to my site all I ask is credit and the link back to the post.

We may be seeing the opening salvo of a new war between the “drive-by” media and the “pajamas” media, with the strategy being one of attrition through deeper pockets. Fortunately, I have enough news sources who are practically begging me to get their word out that I can do my work but some others may have a difficult time keeping on the straight and narrow.
#83

On June 18th, 2008 at 8:54 pm, conservativeindian said:

ok, guys I just copyrighted “LOL”.

#39

On June 18th, 2008 at 7:03 am, Die Hippie, Die said:
We could call it the FREEDOM ACTION GROUP!
Bad idea. The Film Actors Group has dibs on the acronym.

How about “Freedom From crAP”
#84

On June 18th, 2008 at 9:15 pm, Blind_Mule said:

Ok I have gotten here late but if it involves PS I’m in so here is my contribution
#85

On June 18th, 2008 at 9:23 pm, Blind_Mule said:

Thats the wrong one this is the finished one, sorry.
#86

On June 19th, 2008 at 12:07 am, meatpieandtatters said:

AP=Appallingly Pathetic

Or perhaps, considering their pickitudiness on errant copy hunting: AP=AnalProbers?
#87

On June 19th, 2008 at 1:40 am, Christian Soldier said:

# 39 DHD
OK –How much do you owe me for :

We could call it the FREEDOM ACTION GROUP
taken from my post # 6…

Ok-I’ll share