Introduction:
I am angry and I am hungry and I am in Hungary. I am mad at ThisDay newspaper’s editor. I am seeking a piece of advice on how I could sue ThisDay newspaper for trampling with impunity on what I value most in life – by line. You may wink and say, “Ordinary by-line”. But it is highly important to me. It is what I live for, especially when I am hungry here in Hungary. And this is neither a metaphor nor satire. Money have I none but my by-line I violently demand.
ThisDay Newspaper Unprofessional Conduct
I am angry and I am hungry and I am in Hungary. I am mad at Nduka Obaigbana’s editors or whoever is in charge of the news department. How could they treat me like Obasanjo and his ilk treat Nigerians – open disrespect? Yes it’s the way I see it. ThisDay newspaper may be the best in Nigeria but for now I care less. Its owner and contributors may have travelled all over the world like Ajala; they must not see it as a licence to look at other writers with unmistakeable contempt.
Now let me give you the gist of it. On February 11, 2008, ThisDay newspaper published a news story about a Nigerian in Hungary who romances Adolf Hitler, a German politician who remained a totalitarian ruler until his suicide in 1945. It was captioned: For Praising Hitler, Nigerian risks jail in Hungary .
This acclaimed reputable newspaper in its indiscreet and unprofessional conduct failed to credit the author of the article. The editor even included untrue statement which was not in my version. For instance, The paper wrote that the singer praised Hitler in a music he released whereas it was during an interview the singer had with Bombagyár TV and radio editor, Tamas Polgar.
This isn’t the first time that major Nigerian newspapers would download articles from the leading Nigerian website magazines like nigeriavillagesquare.com, naijaviewpoints.com, chatafrikarticles.com, gamji.com, pointblanknews.com but at least they do credit the authors – most of the time. So downloading without consent of the authors is not even the issue here.
Newspapers like the Champion, The Triumph, Daily Trust, BusinessDay, NewAge, and many others are fond of reproducing opinion articles without prior consent of the authors. There was a time I alerted Sabella Abidde whose article was published inside the Champion without his by-line. Of course I had already read the article in question on the village square and chatafrik.
This is ironical in the sense that if the authors had specifically sent their articles to these newspapers, such articles would likely be discarded. Although this is a further testimony that the website magazines and writers are leading the way, I am not happy with the reckless disposition in which certain Nigerian editors treat internet authors. At least if you don’t pay us, credit us.
Thisday has portrayed itself as a rich and stylish newspaper over the year with its annual awards and scintillating wit even though I never enjoyed reading its online version especially because of its paragraph less articles. A newspaper that invites world leaders and politicians and business tycoons cannot be described as a complete novice in the publishing business.
Thereupon I expect much professionalism from ThisDay newspaper. I want to believe that the management knows what plagiarism is. If not, then I offer to state it here. It is an idea, phrase, or story that has been copied from another person’s work, without stating where it came from. Or is the internet writings not protected by copyright? Recently Shoko Logo Bangoshe in his usual satire discussed about what he termed, Intellectual Property Over Internet Protocol.
Money have I none but my writings I cherish. I believe I have paid my due, thanks to the internet web publishing without which most of us would still be chasing the shadow of getting published in the Nigerian newspapers. We would still be at their mercy. Many writers definitely know what I am rambling about.
Moreover, almost all the African websites extracted the article in question from ThisDay. For instance, AllAfrica.com published it in its website – without my by-line. Who knows, someone somewhere might have read the article and wanted to contact me – either for a jumbo contract or other highly significant reasons. BBC or CNN for example could have seen the article and wanted to contact me for an exclusive interview. See, I am dreaming big.
What a bubbling moment and opportunity I had missed simply because ThisDay newspaper failed to use my by-line. In view of this, I am appealing to our learned men and women to take up my case against this powerful medium called ThisDay newspaper. Honestly speaking, I am tired of this Oyinbo land and I need a sufficiency of raw materials – for resettlement.
Such wilful behaviour from establishment like ThisDay often makes me absolutely livid. It should be noted that I had specifically written the story for The Nation newspaper. It was published on Sunday February 10, 2008 under “Periscope”. How would the editor of the Sunday Nation feel if on Monday he saw the same article on ThisDay newspaper?
This is the main reason why I wrote to the editor@thisdayonline.com on Tuesday February 12, 2008. I am still waiting for his candid reply. My letter is reproduced here:
Dear Sir,
I am writing to register my disappointment over my article, "Nigerian in trouble for praising Hitler" in which you changed to "for praising Hitler, Nigerian risks jail time", and published on the online version of your reputable newspaper February 11 2008.
First I do not know why you failed to credit the article with my by-line. I think it is unfair on me to just download my write-up without including my name - the author.
The said article was specifically written for a Nigerian newspaper, The Nation which was published on Sunday edition (February 10 2008) under the caption "Periscope".
Of course this is not the first time that some Nigerian newspapers would download my articles without my knowledge, but at least they do include my name whenever they do. As you know this is important to some authors, for money is not everything. But name is.
Regards,
Hakeem Babalola
Budapest , Hungary
Copyright 2008 mysmallvoice@yahoo.com
By Hakeem Babalola