Heedlessly Hijacking Content

[Commentary] Last Monday, the word got out that Rolling Stone had a stunning piece about General McChrystal, in which he and his aides were critical of the White House. It's the kind of scoop that thrills magazine editors, and no doubt they couldn't wait to get their issue on the stands. The problem was, nobody else could wait either.

On Tuesday morning, a PDF of the piece the magazine had lovingly commissioned, edited, fact-checked, printed and distributed, was posted in its entirety on not one but two Web sites, for everyone to read without giving Rolling Stone a dime. It was a clear violation of copyright and professional practice, and it amounted to taking money out of a competitor's pocket. What crafty guerrilla site or bottom-feeder would do such a thing? Turns out it was Time and Politico, both well-financed, reputable news media organizations, that blithely stepped over the line and took what was not theirs. Both companies said that a frenzy involving a significant national issue was under way and that because Rolling Stone itself did not post the article on its site, they took matters into their own hands. Each said that when Rolling Stone protested, it was taken down, and that when the magazine put up the piece at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, their sites linked to that instead.