WWII Era Advice On Newspapers Still Relevant Today... If Only Newspapers Would Listen

News Station Falls For April Fool's Prank, Turns to DMCA As Remedy

from the take-downs-don't-actually-make-things-go-away dept

Wed, Apr 15th 2009 10:52am — Blaise Alleyne

Improv Everywhere, a comedic performance art group based in New York, has a history of pulling off hilarious and impressive "scenes of chaos and joy." Running "missions" such as the annual "No Pants Subway Ride," a food court musical, sending 80 people into Best Buy dressed as employees and getting 200 people to "freeze" during rush hour in Grand Central station, these guys are masters of the flash mob and the harmless prank. Last April, in a mission called "Best Game Ever," they showed up at a little league baseball game with signs, peanut vendors, programs and even an NBC sponsored jumbotron with live commentary and player stats to turn an ordinary event into something extraordinary.

Building on that theme, Improv Everywhere's latest mission was to create the "Best Funeral Ever," to pick a random funeral from the obituaries and show up to make it "truly awesome." It sounds terrible, and the video is pretty horrifying... until you realize it's from April 1^st. The next day, they confirmed it was an April Fool's joke and that it wasn't a real funeral -- all of the "family members" were actors. Lots of people fell for it (I definitely did at first), but best of all was the local CW 11 news team that covered the YouTube video as if it were a real funeral. Charlie Todd, founder of Improv Everywhere, uploaded a video of the newscast with the following commentary:

So basically the extent of their reporting is watching a video on YouTube and then describing it as fact on air. They didn't bother to email Improv Everywhere for comment, call the cemetery to verify, or try to get a quote from the"family." They just watched the video and threw it on TV. Great journalism!

The story was on the news channel's website too, but was later removed without any explanation or correction. Now, two weeks later, Todd has received a copyright notice from YouTube that his video of the newscast was removed due to a copyright claim from Tribune (the station's parent company). First of all, it's pretty silly to try to hide the mistake rather than owning up to it and posting a correction (Streisand Effect anyone?). But beyond that, it's pretty ironic and hypocritical that the news organization, which used the Improv Eveywhere video without permission or even proper attribution, would send a take-down notice to the owner of the that video who was commenting on their commentary. Todd writes,

It's OK for them to air content that we shot and own, but it's not OK for me to upload their footage of the content they took from me? It's "fair use" for the news to take a video off of YouTube and broadcast it, but it's not "fair use" for a citizen to expose their poor reporting on his own content?

Fair use or not, Tribune just found a great way to draw more attention to the fact that their "journalists" fell for the prank and seem to be pretty embarrassed about it.

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Filed Under: april fool's, copyright, dmca, improv everywhere, prank
Companies: cw-11, tribune company

38 Comments

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Anonymous Poster, 15 Apr 2009 @ 10:55am

Hello, Streisand Effect.
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Tgeigs, 15 Apr 2009 @ 11:02am

In related news...
"it's pretty ironic and hypocritical that the news organization...would send a take-down notice to the owner of the that video who was commenting on their commentary"

In related news:

1. The United States UN Ambassador repeated previous requests today that Iran and N. Korea suspend their nuclear weapons programs, claiming, "Non-proliferation of nukes are in everyone's interest. After all, we all know the more nukes you have, the more evil you are." He apparently overheard the several others snorting milk through their noses, because he quickly added, "Well yeah, we have them, but it's not like we'd ever USE them", at which point the Japanese Amabassador calmly stood from his chair, shouted "Shariuken", shot a slow moving fireball from the palms of his hands and incinerated the US Ambassador.
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spaceman spiff, 15 Apr 2009 @ 11:05am

Sue them buggers!
[rant]I hope they sue the Tribune for copyright infringement for using their video without permission or attribution. Turn about is fair play. If they cannot play by the rules of "Fair Use", let them pay the price in $$![/rant]
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- TheStuipdOne, 15 Apr 2009 @ 12:45pm
  
  Re: Sue them buggers!
  hmm ... I don't know the legality of using their entire video for commentary, but it looks like both groups did the exact same thing. If I were a judge then I'd say that Tribune's actions in sending the takedown clearly expresses that this is copyright violation. Therefore Tribune should be fined (or otherwise punished) for using IE's video. Either that or they should be fined for filing a false takedown.
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yozoo, 15 Apr 2009 @ 11:12am

This is modern journalism
We now hold Oprah and the Daily Show to the same "journalistic" standards we expect from shows labeled as news . . . which is to say none. Is this really what we want, are they really giving us what WE want? if so, I dont see how anyone could be optimistic about our country?
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- Veritas, 15 Apr 2009 @ 12:23pm
  
  Re: This is modern journalism
  The Truth is the goal, not some romantic ideal of "journalism".
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 15 Apr 2009 @ 12:41pm
    
    Re: Re: This is modern journalism
    "The Truth is the goal, not some romantic ideal of 'journalism'."
    
    I dont disagree?
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- Enrico Suarve, 16 Apr 2009 @ 2:18am
  
  Re: This is modern journalism
  Erm actually I hold the Daily Show to a higher standard than most news outlets
  
  Their news is usually factually accurate and well researched where it's important - the bits which are just made up comedy are clear and the whole thing is presented in a manner which actually manages to avoid being condescending
  
  I don't disagree that this is appaling - the fact that a comedian routinely provides a better news service than the combined might of the media is disgusting. But don't blame the comedian...
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Grady, 15 Apr 2009 @ 12:03pm

This isn't the first time (nor the last time) Techdirt has covered a story like this.
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- The infamous Joe, 15 Apr 2009 @ 12:10pm
  
  Re:
  I think technically it *is* the last time, until it happens again.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - WarOtter (profile), 15 Apr 2009 @ 12:29pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Oh snap, a semantics showdown!
    
    FINISH HIM!
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 15 Apr 2009 @ 12:31pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Quickly Grady us your C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-COOOOMBO BREAKER!
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Killer_Tofu (profile), 15 Apr 2009 @ 12:49pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        If there is no reply quickly it will be a:
        HUMILIATION!
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Lee, 15 Apr 2009 @ 4:26pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        PRESS START
        TO
        CONTINUE?
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Grady, 15 Apr 2009 @ 5:45pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Sorry, had to ask my mommy for more quarters, but she said that the game is just melting my brain and causing me to have violent urges.
        
        But yes, you're right, at the moment it is the last time.
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Zaven, 15 Apr 2009 @ 12:05pm

Idiots of the World Unite
Idiots of the world unite! Oh wait they already did that. They're called journalists and they've formed into groups where they watch youtube and collegehumor clips then talk about them with their peers.

Wait, is that a journalist or a immature teenager? I get these things confused all the time.
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- Not A Prank, 15 Apr 2009 @ 12:38pm
  
  Re: Idiots of the World Unite
  Is it coincidence that most "journalists" are liberals? I think not.
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  - Me, 15 Apr 2009 @ 1:27pm
    
    Re: Re: Idiots of the World Unite
    Think that huh? What about the "journalists" at Fox News whose dick you clearly suck?
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    - Tgeigs, 15 Apr 2009 @ 1:55pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Idiots of the World Unite
      Stop spreading lies. Everyone knows that Fox News' Dicks were taken away from them by Karl Rove long ago, hence no one can be sucking them but him.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Alias (profile), 15 Apr 2009 @ 12:08pm

One Word...
awesome.
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- Anonymous Coward, 16 Apr 2009 @ 12:03am
  
  Re: One Word...
  Re: One Word...awesome
  Are you referring to the fake funeral that was deemed suitable for broadcast during the news program or are you talking about the little league baseball game given the big league treatment?
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  - Andrew Fitzgerald, 16 Apr 2009 @ 2:37am
    
    Re: Re: One Word...
    I believe that word applies for both, more so for the little league game.
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David T, 15 Apr 2009 @ 12:22pm

It's not about fair...
... it's about who has the most lawyers on staff.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Apr 2009 @ 12:45pm

Improv Everywhere should demand the TV station turn over the revenue for the portion the broadcast they misappropriated as 'news'.

BTW WierdHarold, What happened to the editors and fact checkers that allegedly make mainstream media so much more valuable than these blogging hacks on the internet?
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- Matt T., 15 Apr 2009 @ 12:54pm
  
  Re:
  Zing!
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SuperSparky, 15 Apr 2009 @ 12:47pm

Journalism died about three decades ago. It's about time people have just started realizing this. Journalism is now "propegandism". Everything is reported with an agenda or end goal in mind.
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- mobiGeek, 15 Apr 2009 @ 1:56pm
  
  Re:
  To this, I must disagree. I do not believe there really ever has been a "golden era of journalism". I suspect that news agencies have always had their bad apples, it is just that today we are able to find out about them much more easily.
  
  Same goes for "violent crimes". They aren't happening more (in fact, they are happening less), but we're hearing about them way, way more because of the wide availability of news these days (CNN has to fill those 24 hours somehow, so they play 3 months straight about some blond college kid that disappears while on vacation).
  
  It just *seems* worse these days.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Apr 2009 @ 12:51pm

These are pretty funny stunts, but depending on the day, if they did this in Penn Station, I might just have wanted to punch some of these "freezers".
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Osno, 15 Apr 2009 @ 12:56pm

But then we have the AP telling us how we need these publications because we won't have investigative journalism without them.
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- Crabby (profile), 15 Apr 2009 @ 1:28pm
  
  Re:
  ROFLMAO
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Apr 2009 @ 1:24pm

Grow a backbone!
Sounds like this journalist is overly self conscientious.
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- Jason, 15 Apr 2009 @ 4:29pm
  
  Re: Grow a backbone!
  HAHA! Was that intentional or just serendipity?
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danny (profile), 15 Apr 2009 @ 2:21pm

any copies of the news video floating out there?
I hope someone has a copy and that it spread virally so that it is impossible for the Tribune to remove it completely.

If so, send a copy to me and it goes up on my blog! And send a copy to WikiSecrets while you are at it.
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- Andrew Fitzgerald, 16 Apr 2009 @ 2:39am
  
  Re: any copies of the news video floating out there?
  It's on the Improv Everywhere site, linked in the article... short, but still entertaining. http://improveverywhere.com/2009/04/14/cw-11-files-copyright-claim/
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RockDJ, 15 Apr 2009 @ 11:57pm

Hack
This is generally what's known in the trade as hack journalism.
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Dan, 16 Apr 2009 @ 1:21am

Someone needs to forward this to Maureen Doud, it might help her understand why the print media is swirling in the toilet bowl.
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Seltzer Junior, 17 Apr 2009 @ 12:22pm

Somehow I don't think this is the way to make a humiliating journalistic gaffe disappear.
Booooo to the Tribune. Improv Everywhere had you and you are embarrassing yourselves for a second time.
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Overcast, 20 Apr 2009 @ 7:20am

Hello, Streisand Effect.

Yeah, I'm gonna look for it as soon as I get home and can get to YouTube or other video sites - YouTube's been too censor happy lately.
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