- Who's Laughing Now? - markmiller
Onliners have gone viral on Twitter and on Cooks Source Facebook page after the magazine editor, Judith Griggs, was contacted about content used without permission or compensation.
Not a Good Day for an Online Alleged Copyright Violator
Griggs may wish she had stayed in bed on Thursday November 4, 2010, because online communities have been passing along the story of her alleged poor treatment of Monica Gaudio who wrote the article A Tale of Two Tarts.
When You Steal – Send a Bill to the Person You Violated?
Monica shared her copyright violation story on LiveJournal - Illadore's House of Crack (watch what you name your personal space). The basics of the story are that Monica found out that her article on apples was printed in Cooks Source without permission. She contacted the editor and asked that a small donation be made to a the Columbia School of Journalism.
The editor declared (in an email posted by the writer) that “the web is considered ‘public domain,’ and you should be happy we just didn't ‘lift’ your whole article and put someone else's name on it!”
In addition, Griggs went on to suggest that she did the writer a favor by editing her piece and making corrections and that it would now be a better article for her portfolio. “We put some time into rewrites, you should compensate me!” wrote Griggs.
Writers Unite in Backlash Against Copyright Violations
Bloggers began picking up the story and then posts started appearing on Twitter. Around lunchtime, Cooks Source was a trending topic on Twitter with posts every few seconds as well as numerous retweets.
One top Tweet by BonnieCelt reads, "Oh, Cooks Source. Now we see that you've also stolen from Martha Stewart. Martha will cut you up and tastefully decoupage your dead body."
Twitter users directed readers to the Facebook page for Cooks Source. That page quickly went viral with comment after comment calling out the editor of Cooks Source and even an advertiser posting that they would be pulling their ads from the publication. A trending tweet hashtag #butreallymonica sparked more one liners and jokes on the site.
Comments ranged from outraged to offensive to funny like the following post:
Heather Ballengee Chandler "Cooks Source is the roommate that clogs up the toilet then lets you discover it on your next flush."
Of course, the pranksters quickly picked up on the trending topic and began posting Griggs gags. It seems that Griggs is now a verb.
Arlojeremy wrote a cover song called But, Honestly Monica and posted that on YouTube following a range of #buthonestlyMonica jokes rolled up on Twitter.
In addition, the editor of Cooks Source now rates a Judith Griggs Wikipedia page.
The Stew Gets Thicker
Curious onliners began checking out the small publication and noted that much of the content was stolen. In fact, a Facebook page was set up for FB members to post other examples of content copied from various sources.
A fan even found a pumpkin pie article written by Paula Deen and pasted up a photo of the magazine with the article in question circled in red. Deen replied on Facebook with: “Thank you, this has been forwarded to our legal department.”
Edward Champion posted a solid article with more information about the copyright problems with Cooks Source. He has examples of photos that were also used that were under copyright. Cooks Source did flip the photos so that they were mirror images.
Stolen Online Content
Copyright violation is common online – unfortunately. Some individuals are not aware that it is a criminal offense to cut and paste the work of others. Some do it and hope they don’t get caught. Others know it’s a legal hassle to try to get compensation and assume writers will not follow up.
It is not often that a case of stolen intellectual property generates much buzz though. Individual writers may be livid when an article is stolen and a small circle of friends may offer support. But, it’s usually not widely known when someone is guilty of this crime.
Why was this Case of Copyright Violation Noticed?
In this case, the email sent by Griggs pushed the story into the spotlight.
A simple apology and the small requested donation would have closed the case.
Griggs instead decided to be rude and to suggest that her actions were not unusual. To top it off, Griggs insulted the writer by suggesting that she improved the article which was a period piece including some historical spellings.
Writers, in particular, were quite insulted by the Cooks Source case, but it went beyond just those in the writing loop. A wide variety of people from all walks of life stood up and said, “This is wrong.”
Update - The Judith Griggs Apology NOT
I had seen the note below posted online and on an account listed as Judith Griggs which appeared to be a spoof account.
My friend Wilifred Reinke had shots of the Griggs apology on his BBQ News space, and I checked to see if he had used his own screen shots. He had, and he gave me permission to post them.
"Hi Folks!
Well, here I am with egg on my face! I did apologise to Monica via email, but apparently it wasn't enough for her. To all of you, thank you for your interest in Cooks Source and Again, to Monica, I am sorry — my bad!
You did find a way to get your “pound of flesh…” we used to have 110 “friends,” we now have 1,870… wow!
Best to all, Judith"
On the other hand, some say that Cooks Source has been hacked (or perhaps just hijacked) or copied. It is difficult to tell the difference if there are two pages running at this time under the name.
A second Facebook page went up under the Cooks Source name with additional strange content about the Griggs scandal. Early on Friday, it had standard content like the pumpkin photo, but it appears that the FB page has now been abandoned. Some onliners speculate that Facebook is locking down the pages and content in case this copyright violation does go to trial.
Monica Checks in Briefly
Some onliners are reporting that Monica is standing by her initial request - an apology and the donation to the journalism school.
In addition, she posted on a Twitter account (on Friday) that she had not heard from or spoken to anyone from Cooks Source since Tuesday.
Helen A.S. Popkin of Technolog MSNBC also posted a Cooks Source interview piece with Monica on Friday. Again, Monica is professional and caring. She reminds people to "take the high road" and says in the interview that she never imagined that her story would be big news. She's concerned about the editors at the magazine. She just wanted an apology and a donation to a journalism program.
Griggs' Hometown Press
Daily Hampshire Gazette from Griggs' area printed Cooks Source Has Blogger Boiling Mad, but they did not score an interview with Griggs who may have posted on the Cooks Source FaceBook page earlier. As of Monday (November 8, 2010), there's been no confirmed official response from Griggs about the Cooks Source affair.
Steve Greenlee of boston.com did compose a parady apology letter with a mash up of famous lines ranging from "I did not have plagiaristic relations with that woman" to "P.S. Oops, I did it again."
Griggs Cooks Source Apology
On Tuesday November 9, 2010, all content was removed from the Cooks Source web page. An official policy statement was issued as well as an apology to Monica. In the posted document, it was noted that the requested donation had been made to the Columbia School of Journalism as well as a donation to a local food bank in Monica's honor.
Onliners checked in on the apology and found it lacking. Twitter members and bloggers continue to enjoy bashing Cooks Source and to note that Griggs apparently still does not "get it." The aplogy includes more excuses versus a sincere apology.
A parady apology to Monica edited from the original with comments is now online by Kitchen Mage.
Judith Griggs Interview
Finally, Griggs steps forward with an interview on the Cooks Source fiasco with Dan Crowley of Gazettenet (November 12, 2010). Again, Griggs does state that she is sorry she took the apple tart recipe article, but she she includes a whole slew of excuses and does not address the growing list of articles that are alleged to have been used without permission or compensation.
Cooks Source Contact Information
From the Cooks Source page up which Griggs says was removed but which clearly isn't, since the site link is active and does include a new policy statement. Earlier content has, however, been removed.
(413) 397-3338 (phone number has now been disconnected)
P.O. Box 273, Sunderland, MA 01375
Cyndi Allison - Southern born and fed, Cyndi Allison is a college lecturer and newspaper advisor as well as being a freelance writer. She writes on ...
