McDonald’s sells cheeseburgers, newspapers sell news

McDonald’s sells cheeseburgers, and newspapers sell news. 

Recently, the News Journal has been experiencing a bit of an issue with social media users screenshotting content that has been posted behind our paywall and then sharing those photos in the comment section. 

Let me explain why this is a really bad idea. 

The first is it is illegal. 

All of the content posted by the News Journal is copyrighted by the News Journal. When individuals reproduce the content, which is what a screenshot is, and then shares it in a comment of their own, they are essentially taking the content copyrighted by the newspaper and sharing it as if it was their own content that they had the rights to. 

While some may argue, ‘Well, I am just trying to help someone else stay informed about what is happening in their community,’ it doesn’t change the ownership of the copyrighted content.

Copyright is defined by the United States Copyright Office as, “‘Copyright’ literally means the right to copy but has come to mean that body of exclusive rights granted by law to copyright owners for protection of their work.”

Exclusive rights of copyright owners include reproduction of the work. Individuals who violate copyright laws could potentially become the defendant(s) in a civil suit or face fines. 

For clarification, there is a difference between sharing content we post behind the paywall on our website (www.thenewsjournal.net) and clicking the share button on a post we have uploaded to our social media sites. 

When we upload content to our website, the content is automatically copyrighted.

We would be more than happy for you to share the links we post on our social media, but please do not copy and paste the text or screenshot the webpage (www.thenewsjournal.net) and share that in the comment section or on your personal page.

Share the post, not the webpage.

For newspapers, because we as journalists write stories as part of our employment, anything journalists write is immediately copyrighted by the newspaper outlet or business. 

The second reason screenshotting and sharing paid content is a bad idea is you are hurting someone, like me. 

Newspapers require revenue to pay their employees. One stream of revenue is the paywall on our website. 

For 99 cents, individuals can read all of the content on our website for 24 hours. 

While 99 cents may seem like a miniscule amount, those day pass purchases and subscriptions are what help pay mine and my coworkers’ salaries. 

When individuals are unwilling to pay for content, they are really saying that they don’t want to pay for someone’s time and effort to produce a product for them.

People don’t get to walk into McDonald’s, take a cheeseburger, and then leave without paying. 

Cheeseburger’s are on the dollar menu. It is just a dollar, so what is the big deal?

If you wouldn’t take a cheeseburger, don’t take a newspaper’s content. As a newspaper, we genuinely care about community. That is the reason I became a journalist.

I knew when I went to college for four years and paid thousands of dollars, that I wasn’t going to become wealthy as a journalist. 

What I did know was that I would be able to make an impact in my community and help keep them up to date with what was going on around them by publishing factual information. 

If the logical arguments don’t dissuade you from reproducing our content, maybe you will listen to an ethical argument. 

Please don’t be the reason journalists are unable to make a livable wage simply because you didn’t want to pay 99 cents for a story.