archives

Via Making Light:

The Associated Press, having already announced its intention to harass bloggers who publish snippets as short as 39 words from AP stories, has now published a web form through which intimidated parties can give the AP money in return for "permission" to publish as few as five words. [...]

The New York Times, an AP member organization, refers to this as an "attempt to define clear standards as to how much of its articles and broadcasts bloggers and Web sites can excerpt." I suggest it's better described as yet another attempt by a big media company to replace the established legal and social order with with a system of private law (the very definition of the word "privilege") in which a few private organizations get to dictate to the rest of society what the rules will be. [...]

Welcome to a world in which you won't be able to effectively criticize the press, because you’ll be required to pay to quote as few as five words from what they publish.

The reaction from blogs such as Daily Kos and AMERICAblog has been nothing but scorn, since the courts get to decide what constitutes "fair use," not media companies.

Quinnipiac University:

With strong support from women, blacks and younger voters, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the apparent Democratic presidential contender, leads Arizona Sen. John McCain, expected to be the Republican candidate, among likely voters in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to simultaneous Quinnipiac University Swing State polls released today.

This is the first time Sen. Obama has led in all three states. No one has been elected President since 1960 without taking two of these three largest swing states in the Electoral College. Results from the independent Quinnipiac University polls show:

• Florida: Obama edges McCain 47–43 percent;

• Ohio: Obama tops McCain 48–42 percent;
• Pennsylvania: Obama leads McCain 52–40 percent.