What's stealing and what's fair use of web content?

During a class on how news organizations use social media, one of my students asked if it was OK to republish any photo that appeared on Facebook, Twitter, or Weibo, the Chinese Twitter. 

Ellyn Angelotti,
Poynter Institute

There is no simple answer to this question, but there are some guidelines, as I learned during an online webinar, "Navigating Copyright and Fair Use Issues in an Open-source World," offered on NewsU by Poynter Institute faculty member Ellyn Angelotti.  

The legal concept of "fair use" in the U.S. and many other countries means that copyrighted material can be reused or republished as long as it meets certain criteria, Angelotti said. Copyright aims to encourage creativity and innovation by protecting a creator's work. But it also aims to encourage people to transform the original so that it advances public knowledge or creativity. 

Some reuse is permitted

So, to answer the student's question, it is generally OK to republish a tweet in Twitter or a Facebook update within those social network systems. However, each social media platform has its own terms of use, which you should consult before republishing.

Universities can lead in incubation of new media models

Ninth in a series on entrepreneurial journalism programs at universities and media organizations. 

Mark Briggs, the man who wrote the book about entrepreneurial journalism, believes that universities are among the best places to experiment with new business models for news.

Universities embrace experimentation and risk-taking, he says. "Those are two traits that are not very inherent in legacy news organizations. That's why I've always felt that the university was in a prime position to be the startup incubator for testing new ideas in digital news and publishing."

He favors the model of a lab where students are encouraged to propose new products and applications and try them out on real audiences. Since the students have no investment in the old ways of doing things, they can approach some of the problems facing media organizations with an open mind. 

Cronkite School focuses on hands-on experiences

Eighth in a series on entrepreneurial journalism programs at universities and media organizations. 

Retha Hill, director,
New Media Innovation Lab

Arizona State University differs from some of the other programs in entrepreneurial journalism profiled in this series since it does not offer a degree in that field. Instead it emphasizes hands-on experiences in its programs for developing new digital media.

Both graduate and undergraduate students can work in its New Media Innovation Lab, operated by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where their research and computer programming help media companies create multimedia products.

Working hand in glove with the lab is the school's Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship,  which also encourages students to develop new media products.

Students from all departments on campus can participate in both these programs, bringing together experiences from engineering, business, computer science, and other disciplines.

A niche publication thrives within the New York Times

Loren Feldman, small business editor

 

Versión en español aquí.

A digital media entrepreneur has to think first of building a community. Doing that means offering not just information but answers, advice, help, understanding.

You have to know what your community needs. That is why Loren Feldman perks up when he talks about a five-part series on his blog in which a small businessman described how he almost ruined his business by mismanaging his Google Adwords account.

It was a drama and a mystery aimed at a particular audience, namely small business owners and professionals. The blog is called "You're the Boss: The Art of Running a Small Business," and it appears in the small business section of the New York Times's website. Feldman is the Times's small business editor.

7 leading programs in entrepreneurial journalism

Here are links that describe seven leading university programs in entrepreneurial journalism. What are some other programs that I should include in this series?

Medill builds on 30 years of entrepreneurial journalism

Students work in teams in this program at Northwestern University.

Columbia focuses on coaching journalism execs 

Punch Sulzberger program emphasizes developing the organization by coaching a key executive.

Dan Gillmor: We need more experiments on revenue side of media startups 

Arizona State professor urges more focus on sustainability.

Online courses play bigger role in entrepreneurial journalism

Poynter's NewsU aims to make distance learning as effective as a classroom experience.

In Mexico, innovative selection process for entrepreneurial journalism 

University of Guadalajara's master's is offered in Spanish and completely online.

CUNY aims to incubate new media

Students work with New York City's media innovators. 

At American U., media entrepreneurship includes NGOs

Mid-career executives refine their organizations' strategies.

Related:

How journalist built his brand from college dorm room

Brian Stelter of the New York Times reaches out through social media

Journalists selling ads: think of it as a fair exchange

How to get over the fear of selling

Review: How to Make Money Publishing Community News Online 

Robert Niles offers practical advice to hyperlocal media entrepreneurs

Medill builds on 30 years of entrepreneurial journalism

Seventh in a series on entrepreneurial journalism programs at universities and media organizations. 

Rich Gordon, Director of Digital
Innovation, Medill School of
Journalism, Northwestern U.

Rich Gordon is bemused by the recent proliferation of university programs in entrepreneurial journalism. The Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University has been doing it for 30 years.

"We had classes here in our master's program where we required our students to create new publications and address the content, the audience, and the business plan of these publications," Gordon, director of digital innovation, said in an interview.

"I assume other schools didn't do it because it wasn't considered appropriate for journalists to be talking about business, students didn't want it, faculty couldn't teach it, and the job market didn't ask for it. I don't think the term 'entrepreneurial journalism' even existed a few years ago."

Journalists selling ads: think of it as a fair exchange

When I was going through the transition from editor of a business publication to the role of publisher, I dreaded sales calls with clients.

It meant I had to ask clients for money, which was a new and uncomfortable experience. The hilarious irony of this is that, as a reporter and editor, it was my job to ask people much tougher, more-intrusive questions, and I did it with no problem -- grieving parents about the death of their child, a political candidate about his sexual escapades, a business executive about her salary.

How tough could it be for a former reporter to ask an advertiser for money? (I borrow this example from Robert Niles's book.) Not that tough, as it turns out.