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Those of you who follow me on any social media platform have probably seen my recent posts about my local Fox 5 San Diego news station fraudulently using my photo on a weather segment this week. The whole ordeal has been exhausting but some very important lessons can be gleaned from it.
This post is not a rant. It is not meant to publicly humiliate Fox 5 San Diego. It is recap of the experience I had recently. And it is based on facts and information. There are key lessons to be learned from the poor manner in which Fox 5 handled this situation.
If you have ever had your intellectual property, your photos, or your written material used without your permission, or used under someone else’s name, you will relate to this blog. If you haven’t, you may learn something from this blog. And if you have ever used someone’s copyrighted property in a fraudulent manner, I suggest you read this and learn from the mistakes of others.
First off, for those of you who haven’t heard the story yet, here’s what went down. Wednesday evening I was plugging away on the computer answering some blog post comments while my husband watched the 6:00 news. As usual, we were watching the Fox 5 news and they showcased their “Picture of the Day”. This is a picture submitted by a local viewer that the meteorologist chooses to include in their segments.
I have submitted numerous photos over the last couple months and seen my photos shared on air quite a few times. There is no reward for this other than seeing your photo on tv.
When the weather segment started on Wednesday, the weather anchor, Kyle Hunter made reference to a photo taken in Poway, submitted by Lindsay Huey. He was talking about the cumulus clouds out over the mountains and making direct reference to the clouds in the photo. I heard my husband scoff slightly and turned around to see what the photo was. He had scoffed because it was a photo that looked a lot like one I had previously submitted. We even started joking about the possibility that one of my coworkers could have gone and imitated the photo and submitted an almost identical pic. I even said, “Hey, imitation is the highest form of flattery, right?”
But the more I sat here thinking about it (you see I have a very photographic memory), the more I started thinking how much that photo really looked like my photo. Thanks to modern technology, we were able to rewind the segment and pause the screen on the photo. I pulled up my original photo on my phone and what do you know – it was the EXACT SAME PHOTO!
Don’t believe me, take a look at this image I put together. See those clouds, the tree, the hills. They are identical.
You can read the rest of this post at: http://jennstrends.com/lessons-from-a-fox5sandiego-screw-up/
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For a company that, as you say, has an “active social media presence”, Fox 5 San Diego is woefully ignorant. To essentially attempt to ignore it, is mind boggling. I have always been aware of any negative or contrary opinions posted about something I wrote or shared, and I make sure to respond to them as quickly and politely as I do the favorable ones.
I also agree that it is important to be diligent about the original work you share.
I will be featuring this in my paper for sure. Everyone needs a “heads up”!
Thanks Kim! I always appreciate your support!
And, yes, it is mind boggling that there haven’t been any responses. I even tweeted to specific people at Fox 5, including the weather anchor, and not one reply from any of them.
What a shame!
Jenn – sorry to hear of this situation with Channel 5 Fox News. I find it frustrating when you play by others’ rules, and expect them to have the courtesy to do the same as well as to consider your feelings when they negatively impact you. I hope that someone in their food chain will realize their failure and will do the right thing…
It is also good that you raised awareness of using other peoples’ materials without their approval, or without giving them the credit for their work. It is so easy to grab something off of the Web and use it without thinking about the time, effort and thoughts that went into their copyrighted materials, whether it is labeled as such or not. This is a great lesson that people need to hear and learn from….
Thanks Dave. It is frustrating, but I’m happier to know how they operate now. While they chose to hide from the situation, it actually provided me with a clear representation of how they do business and allows me to make more educated decisions on associating with them in the future.
And I did feel like it was good opportunity to remind people about the real value of copyright laws. I always strive for educating my audience and if I can use this situation to shed light on ways in which they can do their jobs better, then it’s all worth it in the long run.