Cincinnati Enquirer Editor Declares War On Content Parasites: 'We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore'

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Of course, he seems to have swiped the line from a movie script. The editor of Ohio's third largest newspaper said in a Sunday column that the Gannett Co. Inc. property is using technology "that scours the media landscape for illegal use of our content." Cease and desist commmunications reportedly have been sent to blogs, radio stations and Websites. Yet none were identified -- which means the Enquirer is sitting on a huge story framed against the Internet, the free flow of information and intellectual property rights. Editor Tom Callinan also borrowed -- without crediting the source -- the "mad as hell" line from the 1976 film Network, a movie that won an Oscar for Peter Finch. In Callinan's appropriation of the line, he altered it only slightly by adding "we" in place of the screenplay's "I'm." Perhaps a studio in Hollywood is scouring, too. Meanwhile, there is little known about the Gannett-owned newspaper's threatened legal actions against the unnamed pirates alleged to have taken its content without permission:

"We're no longer willing to idly watch our good efforts stolen . . . In recent weeks, we have sent warnings to several blogs, Web sites and radio stations. We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore."

But what of others who may have had their material recycled in the Enquirer? For example, the Sunday sports section -- the same edition of the paper in which Callinan's declaration of war appears -- contains a quote from Cleveland Browns President Mike Holmgren. The quote dates back to late February when it originally appeared in other newspapers and Websites. Holmgren's remark is about Tim Tebow, the University of Florida star who is hoping to become a high draft pick in the NFL's quarterback selection process. Holmgren wondered about Tebow's delivery, his throwing style. Here's the Cleveland Browns president's quote from the March 7 Enquirer sports section: "It's always been my opinion that that's the most difficult thing to change in any quarterback. I've read he's got a number of guys coaching him up on that and he's trying to change it, but it's really hard to do, I think. Particularly in pressure situations."

But that quote didn't originate in the March 7, 2010 Enquirer. It is all over the Internet. The Akron Beacon Journal's Maria Ridenour used a truncated version of Holmgren's remark on Feb. 27, which is 10 days before it showed up in the Enquirer. The quote was on the Feb. 26 version of the Seattle Seahawks team Website. Actually, there are some 836 references to the quote that turn up in a Google search. None of this is to suggest that the Enquirer stole the quote. It is meant to suggest that Holmgren's remark was widely circulated, and even appeared under copyright as content in several news and Web sites before finding its way into the Sunday Cincinnati Enquirer. It was neither fresh nor new in the universe of sporting news. The Houston Chronicle -- which claims a February 26 copyright on the Holmgren comment -- would look silly sending a cease and desist letter to Cincinnati.

[UPDATE: 6:16 pm: Tom Callinan and I have now exchanged e-mails. I won't publish the verbatim version of his reply. My e-mail can be seen below. But it appears he is informing me that he does not consider the content parasites to be a significant problem for the newspaper after all. His private communication seems to run totally counter to what his column said today. He noted that radio stations aren't really problematical. He would not name any violators. The radio stations don't have much of a news staff in this economic climate. He said he would not out any of the blogs or people that the Enquirer has a problem with because the problem often goes away without much head butting. He said the Enquirer uses a program called Attributor to track down possible offenders. Here is what I wrote to the Enquirer's editor: "I found your column quite interesting and have posted about it on The Daily Bellwether. I wonder if you would be willing to identify those who have gotten warnings for stealing content. That is huge news. You have covered similar disputes in the paper between record companies and downloaders. There does not seem to be any reason why this issue should not be aired in the Enquirer's pages, or online. I would be willing to publish the letters if you would give them to the Daily Bellwether. That would be strange, obviously, because the Enquirer is in the middle of the story. You have publicly said thievery is taking place, but you haven't said who the thieves are. You have tarred a lot of competing media -- blogs, radio stations, Websites. Anyhow, thanks for your time. I think you have raised an important issue. I think you should disclose more and be more transparent." ]

[UPDATE 2 - 3/8/2010 9:44 am: The Cincinnati Beacon reacts to Callinan's column. It notes that there is plenty of derivative work floating around the journalistic sphere in Cincinnati, and that the Enquirer might be doing some poaching of its own from blogs and other outlets. From the Beacon: "So, Mr. Callinan, let’s tone down the rhetoric a bit. People shouldn’t steal your stuff, but before you talk about parasites and your hard work, let’s take a bit of a reality check, okay?"]

[UPDATE 3 - 3/9/2010 5:52 pm: Larry Gross weighs in today and points out Gannett's local version of Metromix tried a pickpocket job on Cincinnati's alt/weekly CityBeat earlier this year. Talk about content parasites. It was a raid of the corporate kind; something that could have been dreamed up by Wall Street banksters. CityBeat has been running an annual Best of Cincinnati contest for years. Metromix tried to horn with its own best of. CityBeat raised cane and got the best of Metromix, which slunk away from its copycatting.]

[UPDATE 4 - 3/10/2010 9:52 am: CityBeat's Kevin Osborne shows that the Enquirer is selling ads and making a profit from an advertiser accused of wrongfully appropriating material from the PBS series called Antiques Roadshow. The Enquirer's conduct, the Cincinnati CityBeat writer contends, puts Editor Tom Callinan's claim of victimization from "content parasites" on thin ground. In other words, the Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper is raking in money from someone that WGBH in Boston is suing in federal court for alleged trademark violations.]

House GOP Leader Boehner's Disastrous Dixie Foray: Republicans, Dems, Tea Party Ally To Denounce Alabama Meddling

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- A member of the Madison County Republican Executive Committee calls John Boehner "persona non gratia" and recommends he hunker down in a D.C. bunker. Another local GOP official says he's trampling the Alabama leadership. An uncivil welcome appears to be in store for Boehner, the man-with-the-tan from suburban Cincinnati. The Ohio Republican is headed to Huntsville, Ala., to raise money for U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith, viewed by many as a political turncoat who quit the Dems to run for reelection this year as a Republican. Locals are putting together a protest and warning the GOP's House leader to mind his own business and stay out of town. Boehner's decision to headline Griffith's Monday fundraiser has become so controversial in Alabama's 5th Congressional District that it has managed to unite area Republicans, the Tea Party, Democrats, union activists, college students, and the local chapter of Health Care For All -- bipartisanship that crosses all political lines.

The Huntsville Tea Party calls party switcher Griffith an "opportunist who cannot be trusted." It went on to describe Boehner's willingness to raise funds for the former Democrat as "Boehner is displaying the same indifference to local concerns by meddling in the Republican primary. Such behavior deserves no reward."

Republicans sound just as harsh. Hugh McInnish, a member of the county executive committee in Huntsville said: "Mr. Boehner has no business here in North Alabama, and the local Republican Committee has in effect said so. He would be better advised to bunker down within the confines of his Inside-the-Beltway-Fortress and stay there. He is persona non gratia." In neighboring Athens County, the local News Courier newspaper reported that Republican leaders are concerned Boehner is helping raise funds for only one Republican candidate:

“Recruitment of qualified Republican candidates is very difficult and John Boehner has not helped that process,” said Rex Davis, who, along with Don Hudleston, encouraged members of the Limestone County Republican Executive Committee to attend the protest. “Why would anyone want to run for office as a Republican and be trampled by the National Republican Party against the will of the local Republican leadership?” Another protestor said Boehner should not be involved in Alabama politics. “Our message to Rep. John Boehner is stay out of the Fifth District’s business. The Tea Party movement began and is continuing today because the people are being ignored. Government officials have forgotten who they work for and ‘We the People’ are tired of it and determined to take our country back,” said Deborah King, founder of the Athens-Limestone Tea Party Patriots.

Is Cincinnati's Fifth Third Bank Treading PayDay Lending Territory? Offers 'Early Access' Loans At 120% APR

By Harry Callahan

Special to The Daily Bellwether

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- And we thought the payday loan industry was history. Check out the accompanying graphic. There's a sentence that says, "The Transaction Fee is $1 for every $10 borrowed. This equates to an Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of 120%." That's not from a Mafia loan shark. It's from a national bank based in Cincinnati. Not only have payday loan stores like Check 'n Go and CheckSmart managed to survive a 2008 Ohio law capping the annual percentage rate on their loans at 28 percent, but now banks have gotten into the act. Only they don't call them "payday loans." Instead they're called "Early Access" advances by Fifth Third Bank, which fronts up to $500 to customers with direct-deposit paychecks, and "Checking Account Advances" at rival USBank.

Whatever they're called, they're pretty much what the payday lenders offer to people who can prove that they have regular income and a checking account. The Ohio General Assembly, Gov. Ted Strickland and Ohio voters thought they had strangled the payday loan industry by cutting maximum APRs from 391 to 28 percent. But lenders of all sort found ways around the law by charging loan origination fees, redefining loans as advances and using their national bank charters to shield themselves from the state interest rate cap. The APR at Fifth Third and USBank is sky high and, as Fifth Third admits in its terms and conditions, "This is an expensive form of credit."

Consumer groups have assailed payday lenders as predators of the working classes, but bank overdraft fees are awfully predatory, too. Facing more pressure from regulators to rein in their highly profitable fee programs, banks are now steering their checking account customers into payday loans. By the time all banks complete that transition, Ohio could have more payday loan outlets than ever. But they'll be known as banks.

WLW 700 AM Radio Talk Show Host Bill Cunningham: Ripped As Ruthless Businessman

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Taxman blog, a conversative site, posted an unflattering item today about Bill Cunningham, the conservative Cincinnati talk show host. It's about Willie's, a local bar and restaurant outfit that uses Cunningham's nickname. Seems to have some inside info. Check out the crunch lines:

"Last year, given that the stores were losing money, the principal owner, Brad Orr, gave ownership of the Kenwood store to the accountant Barb for cover the debt they owed her.Apparently, Cunningham wanted the store back so he could give his jerk wad of a kid a store to manage. But he didn't go to Barb to buy her out. Instead, knowing that the store was on a month to month lease, went to the landlords and offered a sizable rent increase if they would evict Willie's out of the spot; which they promptly did.So now Willie's is attempting to reopen on Galbraith road where the old Gentry Shop used to be. And Cunningham is looking to start his new place where the old one used to be."

Cincinnati Skirts Stink Embroiling Toledo: Procter and Gamble Puts Up $50K For Proper Spot For City Dogs To Poop

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Ohio is a state with split personalities and deep regional differences. Here's proof: Toledo-area residents can't get their act together over how to handle dog crap. Maybe that's why the NW Ohio city is America's 15th most miserable community, according to Forbes Magazine. Toledo produced this memorable line: "Who the hell wants a bunch of dead grass where dogs poop on in their park?". Meanwhile, P&G's pet care division says it is giving a $50,000 grant to Cincinnati's downtown council for a dog park that will cover nearly a half-acre. SW Ohio's urban hounds will get to romp off their leashes. And poop within sight of downtown's skyline. Lisa Renee's Toledo-based blog Glass City Jungle has been red hot in cyber space (I was going to say flush with readers) about that city's dog poop flap. Here's a quote from a local parks official:

“Once this dog park is in use, the area will become brown. The beautiful grass will deteriorate,” Diane Shankland, President of the Ottawa-Jermain Parks Advisory Board said. “It was kind of shoved down our throat as a board, we weren’t advised at all and all of a sudden we find in the paper the fence is going up March.”

In Cincinnati, the dog park is going onto a slice of urban space that is mostly owned by the Ohio Department of Transportation. Some of the P&G grant money will be used for fencing and screens. The Cincinnati Enquirer's Carrie Whitaker did some excellent reporting about the downtown dog park today.

Hamilton County Urged To Hire Licensed Sexuality Educator: She Would Commute To Cincinnati And Teach Teens Mostly About Money

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The mileage reimbursement rate is pegged at 50 cents a mile. Part of the duties would be to show kids how to go to a bank or credit union. The proposed contract with the sex expert -- whose primary scope of service would be to train teenagers about "money management" and "budgeting" -- was prepared by the county's department of jobs and family services. She would commute to Cincinnati from Clarksville, a small town in Clinton County. Up to 15 teenagers in foster care programs would be paid $4,050 in stipends to attend 96 hours of training sessions. The contract says 64 hours would be devoted to handling money; 32 hours would be for identifying sexually transmitted infections and understanding the concept and practice of healthy relationships.

On the money management and budgeting side, the contract says the teens would learn various topics including "identifying personal values about money, clarifying concepts such as cost of living, spending and saving . . . selecting and managing checking and savings accounts." Each kid would be given $10 per class, bumped up to $30 for the final session.

As for the qualifications of the instructor, this is what the proposed contract says (names omitted):

". . . is a 17 years veteran professional Sexuality Educator. She is a Certified Sexuality Educator from the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists and obtained a Masters in Social Agency Counseling from the University of Dayton. (name deleted) has designed and delivered programs and professional training related to all areas of family life eduction to diverse audiences in Southern Ohio and nationally. Specifically, she is nationally recognized as an expert with regards to educating adolescents/young adults with exceptional abilities/disabilities. (name deleted) and her staff have provided services to the young adults involved with the Hamilton County Independent Living Program since 1997."

Artist Shepard Fairey And The Hyde Park County Club Share Something In Common: Legal Doctrine Of Unclean Hands

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The attorney defending Cincinnati's swanky Hyde Park Country Club against a whistleblower's lawsuit contends the plaintiff is not innocent of wrongdoing and unfair conduct. Arthur Schlemmer said in a court filing that Ted Marinakis's "claims are barred by the Doctrine of Unclean Hands." That is the same legal strategy invoked by artist Shepard Fairey -- creator of the Obama Hope poster -- in a copyright dispute with the Associated Press. Fairey's work is the subject of a showing now under way at Cincinnati's Contemporary Arts Center. The AP says Fairey used a photo owned by the wire service without permission to create Obama Hope; Fairey says the AP has distributed copies of his work without permission. Background on the copyright dispute is available here. A copy of Fairey's counterclaim against the AP's lawsuit is available here (pdf).

For those interested in learning more about the doctrine of unclean hands, there are a variety of sources online offering definitions and explanations. This one was fairly succinct: "Doctrine of Unclean Hands is a defense used by a defendant against a lawsuit when the complainant himself has done a wrong thing in the subject matter in which the plaintiff is seeking a court's assistance. For example, Mr. Smith advanced money to Mr.Kelly to beat his neighbor, and Kelly failed to do the work. Here Mr.Smith is having an Unclean Hand."

Schlemmer, who is defending the country club, has not yet offered any details of the conduct that he wants to pin on Marinakis, who was the club's food and beverage director. Marinakis claims the club hired illegal aliens and allowed gambling. Schlemmer's answer to the lawsuit denies all allegations.

Adultery Scandal Rocks Ohio Air Force Base: The Case Of The Randy Chief Master Sergeant Who Shagged Married Subordinates

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- It is still against the law to have sex with a married colleague in the military. And a lot of service members have been scoping out a
brief Air Force news release about hanky panky at Wright Patterson in Ohio. The item -- which offers scant details -- has been among the "most viewed" on the service's official Web site for more than a week. Apparently, the married male sergeant boffed several of his married female subordinates, and there are allegations of sexual harassment. In From the Cold is a blog that follows intelligence matters, and noted that the accused philanderer had served in units with spy missions. It did not suggest he was James Bond. While the randy sergeant faces punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, none of the women have been charged. That news that was dug up by an enterprising reporter, John Nolan of the Dayton Daily News, formerly of the Associated Press in Cincinnati. Compare what Nolan learned versus the Air Force's minimalist press release:

This is the military version: "WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) -- A former command chief master sergeant for the Air Force Materiel Command here, has been formally charged by Air Force officials with several counts of violating specific articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Chief Master Sergeant William Gurney was charged with seven specifications of violation of Article 92, failure to obey an order or regulation and dereliction of duty; two specifications of violation of Article 93, maltreatment; two specifications of violation of Article 120, indecent conduct and wrongful sexual contact; and seven specifications of violation of Article 134, adultery and misuse of official position.These charges are the result of an investigation by Air Force Office of Special Investigation agents that began in November 2009 after a junior enlisted female member came forth with allegations of sexual harassment.Gen. Donald Hoffman, the commander of AFMC, has elected to request transfer of this case to avoid any actual or perceived conflict of interest since Chief Gurney reported directly to him in his previous position. As a result, the case has been transferred from AFMC to Air Mobility Command officials for the administration of military justice."

Now sample a portion of the Dayton Daily News report today:

"Among the accusations:
Gurney, who is married, had sex with two of the technical sergeants, also married, and two of the master sergeants, also married. Adultery violates the Uniform Code of Military Justice, placed in a category of conduct that could be detrimental to the order and discipline of the armed forces, could damage morale or respect for authority, and could bring discredit to the armed forces.
Gurney had sex in the presence of a master sergeant, and repeatedly and deliberately made sexual remarks to the victims."

Ohio GOP Gov Candidate John Kasich Confesses: As House Budget Chair I Screwed Up My Federal Ethics Forms

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Sloppy not crooked. Or stupid not crooked. The Kasich for Governor campaign now has an explanation for a federal financial disclosure form that shows he purchased shares in a Goldman Sachs investment fund before the fund was launched in 1999. John Kasich's excuse: He didn't manage to correctly fill out the legally required paperwork. In other words, John Kasich -- who was responsible for putting together the entire budget for the United States government -- couldn't get things right on his Ethics in Government Act report. Shades of former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, who had his own problems with lapses on ethics forms. Kasich made his mistake in 2000, the year he wanted to campaign for the presidency. Now he's running for governor of Ohio and correcting the decade old error. Kasich is supposed to be sharp with numbers, and worked at Lehman Brothers as a managing director. He was an executive at the Wall Street investment bank when it collapsed and helped trigger the current worldwide financial crisis. Inquiring minds are wondering: Does Kasich know how to watch the store?

Suburban Cincinnati Woman Finds Rodent Head In Can Of Beans: Kroger, Stokely Ordered To Trial

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The presence of the rodent head does not seem to be disputed. And none of the adulterated Stokely brand canned green beans that Teresa Scheffler-Morgan poured into a casserole dish while making an evening meal were eaten. Instead, the case will go to a Hamilton County jury in August largely over the question of post-traumatic stress disorder. Judge John Andrew West recently rejected efforts by Kroger Co. and Seneca Foods Corp. to toss the case out of court. The companies claimed the victim had to eat the beans to show she was harmed:

"Defendants cannot be held accountable for Plaintiff Scheffler-Morgan's underlying postraumatic stress disorder. The condition existed prior to any actions by Defendants . . . It is simply not reasonably foreseeable that a food product that contains an adulterated substance will cause a consumer to suffer from postraumatic stress disorder upon merely viewing or observing the adulterated substance . . . Had Plaintiff Scheffler-Morgan consumed a portion of the adulterated food product the issues before this Honorable Court would be different; however, Plaintiff Scheffler-Morgan did not consume any portion of the food product."

So what happened? Here's the story from the woman's lawyers:

"As she was preparing the evening meal, she opened the can of green beans and emptied its contents in a casserole dish. There was an unusual and rancid smell. Teresa observed a chopped up rodent's head in the green beans. She experienced a panic attack, but thought she would be okay. However, Teresa became violently ill over the next several days. She lost her appetite and became depressed and lethargic. As a result of this shocking incident, Teresa experienced extreme intestinal distress. After undergoing a battery of tests with various physicians, it was determined that she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)."

Cincinnati Declares Malaysians An Official Minority: Placed On Par With African Americans For Jobs

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Contract language for the city-financed renovation of the downtown Cincinnati Metropole Hotel into luxury accommodations decrees that Malaysians are defined as an official minority for hiring purposes. The contract says the construction workforce on the project -- which includes up to $6.1 million in city money -- should be at least 11.8% minority persons. The contract was approved Wednesday March 3, 2010 and requires developer 21c Cincinnati Inc. to undertake best efforts to recruit minority workers for the 550 construction jobs expected to open. Malaysia is a nation on the South China Sea that had been a British Colony until 1963. Its residents were never enslaved in the United States, nor did they suffer the economic and racial discrimination that black Americans endured for centuries. The city's definition of minorities for hiring on the Metropole project seems to cast an extremely wide net -- besides Malaysians it includes everyone who can trace their heritage back to Asia, the world's most populous continent. Here's the contract language: "'Asian or Pacific Islander' means a person having origin in the original people of the Far East or the Pacific Islands, which includes, among others, China, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands, Malaysia, Hawaii and Samoa."

Inquiring minds might wonder: Is there a wealth of evidence and history showing Malaysians were subjected to economic abuses by officials in Cincinnati? Malaysians aside, the whole definition of a minority looks somewhat slippery. Under Cincinnati's definition of a minority -- which sweeps up masses of humanity without regard to economic status -- the chairman of Toyota would meet the test, as does the Emperor of Japan. So does Hu Jintao, the president of China.

The issue of minority hiring and government contracting has been percolating recently with the Cincinnati NAACP's concerns that black contractors are not getting their share of school construction work. There has been debate carried in The Cincinnati Beacon here and here. The NAACP has protested at school board meetings, and is raising legitimate points. Perhaps equally as important is a review of who actually gets the label "minority." Certainly, it seems it should be based on more than geography, and should be tied to equalizing or addressing a past wrong inflicted by the government unit awarding a contract or hiring a worker. There is no doubt that black Americans were discriminated against and were shut out for far too long. Malaysians? Koreans? Japanese? Indians from India? Should they be able to seek jobs that probably should be set aside for black Cincinnatians?

The city apparently recognizes that blacks have a special case. It notes: "'Black' means a person having origin in the black racial group of Africa." That wording excludes the North Africans -- the Berbers and Libyans, Egyptians and Arabs. Interestingly, the city's wording does allow some European whites to claim minority status. Besides Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Central and South Americans, Hispanic is defined broadly to include all people of "other Spanish cultural origin." The King of Spain seems to meet that test.