The Right Side of Life "But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good." — 1 Thes. 5:21

Following up on CNN’s journalistic hit-job on the April 15 tea party, WorldNetDaily is now reporting that CNN wants FoundingBloggers.com’s follow-up video of concerned citizens questioning reporter Susan Roesgen’s just-wrapped segment to remove their footage:

Cable television news network CNN has attempted to block a video on YouTube.com that shows “tea party” protesters in Chicago confronting the network’s reporter Susan Roesgen over her allegedly biased and “not fair” coverage of the event.

Members of Founding Bloggers.com were on hand to videotape the crowd’s response to Roesgen’s report, in which she badgered protesters on air, summarizing her report by describing the tea party as “anti-government, anti-CNN, since this is highly promoted by the right-wing, conservative network Fox.”

Roesgen’s report included arguments with the tea partiers, tossing out contrary positions and demanding her subjects justify their positions, as well as an antagonistic interview with a protester whose sign read, “Obama is a fascist.” …

When the blog posted the video on YouTube – showing a portion of Roesgen’s report, followed by its own footage – however, the clip was scrubbed and replaced with the message, “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Cable News Network, Inc.” …

News of CNN squelching the video in a copyright claim, despite the majority of the video consisting of original Founding Bloggers material, quickly spread through the blogosphere.

“It is hard to avoid the inference that in this case,” writes John H. Hinderaker of the Power Line blog. “CNN was motivated not by a desire to protect its intellectual property but by a desire to avoid embarrassment caused by the unprofessional performance of its reporter.”

“Obviously we hit a nerve with CNN because they forced YouTube to pull the video down, along with all of the comments people posted,” Founding Bloggers responded. “We are in the process of consulting our Founding Bloggers legal team to decide if we are going to file a counter claim against CNN. We believe that we are well within our rights under fair use, but we are not attorneys so….we’ll see.”

Ben Sheffner of the blog Copyrights and Campaigns, however, is an attorney who has served as a copyright advisor to NBC Universal, Fox and the John McCain campaign.

“CNN does own copyright in its own news footage and, as a general matter, has the right to demand its removal from YouTube,” Sheffner writes on his blog. “However, as to this particular video, I think Founding Bloggers has a very strong fair use defense. The purpose for Founding Bloggers’ posting of the CNN footage is crystal clear: to comment on and criticize CNN’s reporting on the ‘Tea Party.’ Such a use is right in the heartland of the fair use doctrine; the statute specifically mentions ‘criticism, comment, [and] news reporting’ as protected uses that are ‘not an infringement of copyright.’”

Sheffner adds, “Many fair use cases are difficult, close calls – but, given the facts as I know them, this is an easy one. … I’m surprised CNN made this claim in the first place.”

WND attempted to contact CNN for comment, but no one was available to speak during weekend hours.

FoundingBloggers.com had the following to say regarding this story:

We are in the process of consulting our Founding Bloggers legal team to decide if we are going to file a counter claim against CNN. We believe that we are well within our rights under fair use, but we are not attorneys so….we’ll see.

In any case, it is hard to understand why YouTube also took down the 3000+ comment thread from the video. Does CNN own all discussion of this clip???

In the meantime, we want to thank everyone that has expressed their support on this issue! From the bloggers listed above, to our readers who have commented and written us. We truly appreciate it!

UPDATE: More of what the blogosphere is saying about this story is available at  Memeorandum.

May I recommend something to you folks at CNN? Try a statement such as the following:

“We regret that so many were offended by the reporting of one of our journalists at the Chicago tea party event. It was our intent to provide reasonable coverage of the protests and it was unfortunate that our viewers were not able to see other reports which we did in other cities.”

Surely you would see that this is quite a legally apologetic comment. You’re not really apologizing, but you come across as at least addressing the situation and giving yourself the ability to move on without having to truly address the real issue.

Nevertheless, it is quite clear that the venerable blogosphere has matured to the point of causing even cable stalwart CNN some heartburn.

This cannot be a bad thing.

Update: OK, this will do:

Monday, April 20, 2009

Cable News Network
100 International Blvd
Atlanta, GA 30303
(404) 827-1500‎

Dear CNN,

We at Founding Bloggers are somewhat bemused by your recent conduct.  We are also incredulous, irritated, and amused – in short, our reaction is complicated.  We note, with some bemusement, that your main competitors have all aired the controversial Susan Roesgen segment with abandon, and that, moreover, dozens of other YouTube stations continue, to this very moment, to air this same segment without any evidence of your having objected in any way.  We regret, with some incredulity, your self-serving, if not entirely convenient, interpretation of the First Amendment.  We suspect, with some irritation, that your inconsistent application of copyright theory is informed by two factors:  1) that you are aware that your main competitors, i.e., MSNBC and FOX, have teams of salaried attorneys to vigorously defend their right to fair use, a case for which might very easily be made, and that, by way of contrast, you are also aware that Founding Bloggers has comparatively meager resources at its disposal and is ill-equipped to mount such a vigorous defense; 2) that you were substantially alarmed by the frequency at which our video was being viewed – internationally.  In short, we suspect that you are harassing us because our product was popular, because we are small, and because you can.  We conclude, with some amusement, that your conduct tends to lend validity to the least flattering stereotypes associated with your organization.  We live in the era of the internet – it is not so easy to silence people these days, as you will discover.  In the final analysis, you will have become the butt of your own joke.

Should you prefer to avoid this fate, we will, of course, welcome the return of our production to its rightful spot – and the 3000+ viewer generated comment-opinions, both in support and in opposition, regarding it. Alternatively, should you prefer to continue on your current course of intimidation and censorship, we will endeavor to counter your actions.

In short, withdraw your fraudulent DMCA claim against our production, and instruct You Tube to restore the clip.

Most Sincerely,
Your Founding Bloggers
www.foundingbloggers.com

Update: The woman who confronted CNN reporter Susan Roesgen to appear on Fox & Friends 4/21/09:

We have just learned that Kathy Barkulus, the woman who took on CNN’s Susan Roesgen at the Chicago Tea Party, will appear on Fox & Friends tomorrow morning at some point during the seven o’clock hour (eastern). Tune in!

-Phil

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