Oops, another Colin Myler fiasco (he's the Christian Jonah editor of the paper about to get a mention). The News of the World has apologised to Kate McCann for wrongly publishing extracts from her diary last week - it was a front page, circulation-boosting special. The paper explains on the little-read page 2 (where the political hacks justify their utterly pointless existence): "We published the extracts in the belief held in good faith that we had Kate’s permission to do so. It is now clear that our belief was misplaced, and that in fact Kate neither approved of nor knew that the extracts were to be published."
I may have missed something here but who owns the copyright in McCann's diary? And would it not have been the usual thing to negotiate a price with her reps, or herself even, for publication? Had the Screws done so they would have discovered that she had not granted permission to publish her private thoughts. The paper has made a donation to the McCanns' campaign to find their missing daughter Madeleine. I hope this sum exceeds by a wide margin whatever profit they made on McCann's diary.
The paper has removed the diary from its website. However, as I write, extracts from the extracts are still to be found on Telegraph.co.uk. "The full context of the journal ... written in an A4 pad, have been revealed in a tabloid newspaper after being leaked by a Portuguese reporter," explains the site. An Australian site also carries a substantial amount of material from the diary click here. Loads of other sites lifted material, including Marie Claire 's.
The Screws' Carole Malone page top headline today is: "One Miskate After Another!" But that's about another Kate. Pity.
Btw - ought not the web page that carried the now deleted McCann diary (as indicated in web search lists) have the apology? It isn't as I write, click here .
1 comment:
I doubt it's Myler's fault but he has to carry the McCann. Sorry.
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