More on the AP’s ‘Fair Use’ Flap: Who Gets to Set the Guidelines?

Published: June 16, 2008, 2:59 pm

Tags: internet, legal matters, journalism, freedom of the press, media, law amp amp legal matters, media criticism, internet news media, blogging, otb

Jim Windish has been covering this story as it evolved, but I thought I’d jump into the discussion, as it is an issue that concerns me greatly. I’m always uneasy when I color outside the lines — and even more so when I don’t know where the lines lie. So one part of me is glad that we’re finally having this discussion. The other part of me is asking why the AP gets to make the call. As Steven Benen notes, ‘The AP is one of the most commonly linked tonews outlets on the planet. If bloggers can't excerpt 79 words from an article, it's going to have an effect.’ The thing is, once a practice becomes accepted and entrenched within a community, the members assume that it’s all right. I understand the AP’s concern but I think they made a big mistake in waiting till the standards were well and truly entrenched and a bigger one in trying to dictate what those standards should be. Community standards aren’t the

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