Good letter. [ooops typo fixed thanks Pavel-ed]

And you're right: this editor hasn't a clue about the law. Or, frankly, about the technology.

That is why the MSM is running scared. They're being called to account, and they don't understand how it can be happening.

Jesus. They REALLY THINK THEY CAN TRY AND SCAM US DON"T THEY. Just like the RECORD INDUSTRY.

I don't know too much about all this new technology, but I think people have a right to use it. THat's the free market. That's why we aren't commies in CHINA!!

I bet this is a tactic they would pull in CHINA to stop blogs..if china HAD blogs of course.

Thanks I knew that, but evidentally typo'd it. Fixed.

Howell, not Harold. Then delete this comment :)

Oops. You're ahead of me, as usual.

I don't think Mr. Bair has a clue what he has just unleashed upon himself.

I have a mental image of a guy blowing up a dam while standing at the base. The last I checked, 18 blogs have already trackbacked to Batesline, and that is just those that have officially tracked back.

The blogswarm cometh...

Fuck 'em up good!

Whoa! SuperKevinBlogger to the rescue!!!

Well, what do you all expect from a paper that only permits subscribers to read the online pages? Only one other paper I can think of does that, and that's the WSJ, of course. (And THEY'RE actually worth it.) Being originally from Tulsa and knowing the "quality" of the Tulsa paper, this merely demonstrates yet again the ridiculous pomposity of their owners and editors, with no substance behind it.

Par for the course.

Yikes. While you're correct about fair use issues, threatening newspapers with the "unruly mob" is kind of...unprofessional. True, we aren't professionals, but Dan Rather and Eason Jordan were guys doing bad stuff and trying to cover it up. This guy is ignorant. It's a bit different. I think bloggers ought to be careful about cries to "unleash the hounds!" on MSM outlets, else we begin to look like the lynch mob they describe us as.

Kevin - At times like this, only one thing to say...

"America, F*** Yeah!"

Mr. Blair will be responsible for for some good out of this: pushing Batesline readership well over 1,000 hits a day.

A fool and his "newspaper" (network/anchor job) are soon parted.

What did I say that Kevin looked like? He writes like one too.

A statesman ;-)

I linked to your letter. Fair use? I think so!

sweet.
Be sure to keep us posted if he replies

Some dialogue from the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers would be funny right about here...

"Commanding mighty warrior dolphin spirit, helped by warning wave of butterly karma..." ha.

The e-mail went out this morning, any I'm awaiting a response. I'll publish his response.

Just a note: The Daily Oklahoman requires a subscription to access their archives as well, OR you can subscribe for free if you have a 7 day a week subscription to the paper.

The Oklahoman is probably the closest thing to a conservative daily paper as there is. The libs are always screaming about the unfair coverage provided by the Daily Oklahoman.

Hi CNN (3:40pm Tuesday) just highlighted this post on Howie Kurtz's segment, noting the line that its a bad idea to tangle with bloggers and he said it sounded like a threat to shut down the Tulsa site. Typical.

Another site I was involved in pre-blogging simply *linked* to news articles (this was 1998-ish) and I got a nasty call from some crotchety older gentleman at the AP bureau here telling me we were illegally re-using AP content and he was going to put a stop to it and that he would sick the other papers on us for doing the same thing to them.

I ran it by a media/first amendment lawyer who did work with my then radio employer and when another newspaper guy called prompted by the AP guy he already knew the deal and just asked that we made sure we cited where the link came from. That ended that.

The Tulsa World has certainly dropped its candy in the dirt. Perhaps Mr. Bair can recognize the PR blunder for what it is and use this sad occasion as an opportunity for some "professional development" during the rag's next staff meeting. Gone are the days of being a journalist so one can "change the world." Everyone with a passion for the facts and a blog is a reporter. Blogs with the highest hits find an audience. Blogs with the highest TRUTH content will have sustainable traffic. Will the Tulsa World be able to extract itself from the MSM tar pit? Stay tuned.

Excellent letter, Kevin.

The fellow at Batesline.com should sue the newspaper for harrasment.

Sounds like a job for...

Team America!

If they're not still crying after reading the letter...

In some respects I hope the paper sues. This kind of BS needs a good asswhupping.

To John Bair at the Tulsa World
===============================
I am most impressed at the courage you have shown by taking on BatesLine.com. I am also saddened that such foolishness can be demonstrated by a member of the main stream media, whose function, once, was the dissemination of accurate, unbiased, un-spun information. But then, in retrospect, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised given the sad performance shown by the MSM in recent years.
However, as a strong supporter of the Blogosphere, I believe that you should clarify your position as regards to the letter sent to Mr. Bates. I read it with great interest. I have every intention of paying closer attention to your newspaper now and inserting my comments into the Blogosphere if I find something you publish with which I disagree or which I find to be incomplete, biased or simply inane. So, in pursuit of this goal, I request an explanation of your rationale for declaring you are not bound by fair use concepts and that linking to your items via remote WEB sites, over which you have no control , is not to be permitted.
I understand that the limits of fair use may be debated. However, this new idea, that a public internet url cannot be referenced without your consent is well beyond my comprehension. I would be most interested in seeing the tap dance you employ to explain this. If you would so kind as to enlighten me, I would be most appreciative.
Actually, I find that this attempt to expand your role as “the unelected conscience of society” into the realm of the judiciary most disconcerting. In fact, I believe that it should be challenged and fought at every turn. The tables are turning and the mechanism has been given birth that will challenge the supremacy, self-righteousness and arrogance of the MSM. I speak, of course, of the Blogosphere. No longer is freedom of expression and the pursuit of an agenda the sole prerogative of the MSM. The people are regaining their voice and they will provide the balance to the unchecked Fourth Estate which has been so corrupted by its absolute power.

Thanks, Kevin-- an excellent, forceful letter. Your words are appreciated.

Bravo!

Kevin that was so excellent a letter! I never heard of Tulsa World before, but they seem to have appointed themselves the keeper of the MSM kingdom.

I did link to this and tried to trackback, for some reason haloscan wouldn't let it happen. Just wanted to let you know.

I'm not a lawyer, but some of this could still be a problem. Assuiming that the content excerpted or linked to is availble only to paid subscribers, that's a bit different from copyright. If you still need a login to directly get to stuff linked from somewhere else, or if the stuff he's excerpted really does qualify for fair use (which I'll assume here), I don't see the problem.

The defense of Fair Use is vital to us all. Even those that blog education. Linked on The Carnival Of Education: Week 2

My first time reading a blog... I am elated at the forcefullness you guys exert in voicing your opinions.

Let reiterate what was said above again:

Fuck them good, for messing with free people.

There! I feel better now.

I've decided to engage in a deliberate policy of doing the very things (linking & excerpting Tulsa World) that TW has demanded he cease & desist from.

It's most gratifying.

I don't see the problem with linking or deep linking at all. All sites can erect subscription barriers. What's the big deal?

For example, once I tried to deeplink a nice photo of a dog. I was linking to a forum full of friends. Well, the page owner didn't quite like that kind of thing, to put it mildly. Up popped the picture. But it wasn't a dog. It was a picture of someone's asshole.

Yikes.

Point being, sites can erect their own barriers.

Duh.

Beck, Drumwaster and I have done the same. Rise, Pajamahadeen!

Fellow Bloggers:

There is more to this story than the Tulsa World's allegation of copyright infringements.

Several years ago, Tulsa residents were asked to approve of an increase of the Tulsa sales tax in order to pay for something called the "Tulsa Project".

The Tulsa World endorsed the tax increase. Michael Bates led the opposition to the tax increase. Tulsa voters rejected the tax increase.

A few years later, Tulsa voters were asked to approve of an increase of the Tulsa sales tax in order to pay for the re-incarnation of the Tulsa Project (re-named "It's Tulsa's Time").

Again the Tulsa World endorsed the tax increase.
Again Michael Bates led the opposition to it.
Again Tulsa voters rejected it.

A few years ago, Michael Bate ran for a seat in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The Tulsa World endorsed Michael's opponent.

Now do you know why the Tulsa World would want to harrass Michael Bates?

Dodo David: Nearly correct about the two sales tax issues, in 1997 and 2000. While I opposed the '97 proposal, and wrote an op-ed against it which appeared in Urban Tulsa Weekly, I wasn't a leader of the opposition that year. I was an opposition spokesman against Tulsa Time in 2000, and again in opposition to 2003's Vision 2025 sales tax hike, a battle we lost, but it turned BatesLine into a blog focused on local politics.

Also, I haven't run for State House. I ran for Tulsa City Council in 1998 (first attempt at elective politics, finishing 2nd in the Republican primary), and then was the GOP nominee in 2002, losing to a World-endorsed opponent.

I stand corrected. I'm sorry, Michael.