Can facts be copyrighted? Yes, according to a bill now before Congress (New York Times). “Factual data is the nuts and bolts of the information age,” said Rick Lane, the chamber’s chief lobbyist on technology issues. “If you try to control its use, you’re going to stifle commerce.”
Although it doesn’t seem likely that this bill will pass this year, it’s still a significant threat. Call your member of Congress and tell him/her to support the Bliley bill covering databases.
Ethics and Online Journalism
A couple of academics have published a survey that’s worth a read.
“Online teams, many of which are operating with no full-time staff or a skeleton staff, are asked to constantly remake the news stories in their Web editions to keep them fresh, and they are expected to push hot, breaking-news items online quickly. High standards of journalistic responsibility and ethics are difficult if not impossible to uphold in this sort of environment.”