FREE-LANCERS PROTEST AT 'NY TIMES'

By: Kathryn Wade Groups Want To Negotiate With Paper


Carrying signs reading "Free-lancing doesn't mean free" and "We
create it, we own it," a group of around 150 protesters rallied
in front of offices of The New York Times on Thursday to
protest the newspaper's reaction to the Supreme Court's June
ruling in the Tasini case. The protesters included members of the
Newspaper Guild, National Writers Union, the Graphic Artists
Union, and other organizations.

The Supreme Court recently ruled that publishers must receive
permission from free-lancers before using their articles in
electronic databases and ruled that publishers who did not comply
were violating copyright laws. Instead of paying writers for the
work that has already been placed on electronic databases, The
New York Times Co., a defendant in the case, started removing
free-lance articles from its Web-accessible archives and asked
writers who wish their work to remain in its archives to contact
it.

According to Jonathan Tasini, President of the National Writers
Union (NWU), the purpose of the rally near Times Square was to
show the Times that writers, and all creators, will not
sign away their rights for no compensation. "The only way to
reach a fair compromise is to sit down and negotiate because the
only other option is an all-out war," he said, "and we are
prepared to fight for the rights that the Supreme Court gave us."

Besides Tasini, several other speakers addressed the crowd,
including Erica Jong, author and NWU advisory board member;
Elizabeth Bunn, vice president of the United Auto Workers; Norman
Siegel, candidate for New York City Public Advocate; and Brian
McLaughlin, president of the New York City Central Labor Council.
Carrying a similar message, each called for publishers to pay for
every use of a writer's work, and urged all union members to
stand up against what some called "intimidation" tactics by the
Times.

Calling for collective action, Tasini ended the rally by telling
his fellow protesters that if they continue to stand up against
the media powerhouse, they will win their fight for what he
called the fair and legal pay they deserve.

The Times Co. had no comment on the protest and referred
reporters to a statement on its Web site. That statement read, in
part, "Following the Supreme Court's recent ruling ... we opened
discussions with the plaintiffs' lawyers in an attempt to bring
about a reasonable negotiated settlement ... any voluntary
settlement agreement among the parties to this litigation must
balance the interests of the writers and the publishers, as well
as the public's interest in having a readily accessible,
comprehensive historical archive available to it."



Copyright 2001, Editor & Publisher.