New York Times and all-rights contracts

We thank Rogier van Bakel -- a member of the National Writers Union's Westchester/Connecticut Local and an enrollee in Publication Rights Clearinghouse, the NWU's collective-licensing agency -- for permission to distribute the text of his letter in The New York Times. (The letter is below. For further information about the NWU or PRC, visit our home page: <http://www.nwu.org/nwu/>.)  

Rogier reports that the unpublished version of his letter included this passage:  

     I'm not surprised when Hearst or the New York Times 
     Company tries to squeeze writers like lemons. (Indeed, 
     the Times, like the Voice, now demands all rights 
     without offering freelancers even a modest additional 
     fee; the move has been condemned by every major 
     writers' organization in the country.) We're fighting 
     back cheerfully, and winning battles small and large.
 

Commenting on his skirmish with the newspaper's letters page editors, Rogier adds dryly, "Apparently, 'All the News That's Fit To Print' REALLY means, 'All The News We Like, Which Of Course Doesn't Include Anything That Reflects Badly On The New York Times Even If It's Completely Relevant And Accurate.'"  

Last fall The New York Times Magazine was scheduled to publish a letter about copyright issues by NWU president Jonathan Tasini, who is also the lead plaintiff in the pending landmark federal lawsuit, *Tasini et al. v. The New York Times et al.* Publication of the letter was killed at the last minute, and the editor of the Magazine's letters page acknowledged that the decision had a corporate, rather than a journalistic, basis. Anyone interested in reading Tasini's censored letter should send an e-mail request to <nwu[_at_]nwu.org>.  

Irvin Muchnick
Assistant Director
National Writers Union  

THE NEW YORK TIMES
February 19, 1997  

Village Voice Turmoil Extends to Freelancers  

To the Editor:  

Your Feb. 13 news article on the turmoil at The Village Voice leaves one aspect of the unrest curiously unreported. The Voice, that bulwark of social and political righteousness, is sending all-rights contracts to its freelance contributors, telling them to either sign or get lost. Writers, including members of The Voice's own staff, are up in arms about this sudden power play.  

Many of us freelancers depend on reselling and sometimes syndicating our work in other markets, domestic and abroad. The Voice wants our electronic and other rights? It can have them. All we ask is that it give us a fair price.  

Rogier van Bakel
Sharon, Conn., Feb. 13, 1997 Received on Thu Feb 20 1997 - 12:57:29 GMT