[Commentary] Are the new media really any more parasitical than the old media? Is this a case of the pot calling the kettle black? A large literature of media criticism suggests that free riding on the work of others is deeply embedded in the old media's DNA. Consider the following parasite-on-host relationships within the old media: 1) Broadcaster-On-Newspaper: broadcasters' free riding on newspapers "has long been one of broadcasting's dirty little secrets." 2) Newspaper-On-Newspaper. Slate media critic and editor Jack Shafer, citing Joe Mullin's blog, The Prior Art, writes: "It's quite common for editors to ask reporters to 'match' a story that has been published or broadcast by a competitor by re-tracing the facts, and of the sources, of the 'scoop.' As long as it's all re-reported and re-written, that's fair game." 3) Old-Media-on-New-Media. 4) Old Media-On-Government. 5) Old Media-On-Academics. 6) Old Media-On-Press-Releases.
