Va. Tech Shootings: Is It Exclusive If NBC "Picked It Up In Its Mailroom?"
By brian on Apr 20, 2007 10:37 AM
Today's NYT sums up competitor complaints about NBC's use of the gunmen imagery...
"...Several competitors questioned some of NBC’s decisions concerning the way it distributed the images, which went out accompanied by a list of rules for how they could be used, including points like: 'No Internet use. No archival use. Do not resell,' and 'Mandatory credit; NBC News.' The chief source of complaint about NBC seemed to be that it had failed to understand how extraordinary and sensitive the images really were, and that it erred in treating them like a news exclusive. Paul Friedman, the vice president of CBS News, said NBC had not done enterprise reporting to come into possession of this material, but had 'picked it up in its mailroom.' And while the rules about usage were fairly standard for the television news business, Mr. Friedman said that 'in this instance it seemed inappropriate' for NBC to be so proprietary about material of such sensitive nature."
