View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

Mail Online says News Corp ‘King Canutes’ have made ‘preposterous’ claims about story lifting

By Press Gazette

Mail Online has hit back at claims it is lifting stories from rivals in Australia by saying they also take its work.

Describing Australian media executives as “King Canutes”, Mail Online has told News Corp titles to stop using its stories with attribution only to a “British newspaper” and to end their policy of almost never linking to rivals.

The move comes after News Corp Australia listed ten articles which it said had been lifted from its titles by Mail Online and threatened to sue for breach of copyright.

Daily Mail Australia said in a statement: “News Corp’s accusations are preposterous. This is a cynical attempt to damage the reputation of Mail Online and its hard-working journalists.”

And it has listed its own examples of lifted content including the example above from the Australian Daily Telegraph.

It features a screengrab of a picture taken from Mail Online which is credited.

Mail Online has also complained that a detailed report in the Daily Telegraph following on from its exclusive video showing members of the pop band One Direction smoking a joint fails to link to the Mail Online video.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

Daily Mail Australia said: “When carrying Mail Online or Daily Mail material we have discovered that News Corp often neglect to name their source and even when they do, they most often don’t provide a link back to the original story.

“Rupert Murdoch is a brilliant, buccaneering innovator who built a global media empire by challenging old business models and vested interests. How sad that the King Canutes now running his Australian print operation are so unfamiliar with how the modern digital world works.

 “At the Daily Mail Australia we aim to break news stories each day and have already begun to do so

“However, like all news media – in particular the giant American digital news-aggregation sites – we also follow up on the stories of the day that have been covered elsewhere.

“At Mail Online we pride ourselves that when we tackle a story in the public domain we always try to add some new piece of information, pictures or video. And if we rely on material from another news organisation’s stories we ensure that the source is clearly attributed and include a hyperlink that directs our readers back to the original story – in common with best web aggregation practice. Sadly this courtesy does not hold true at News Corp."

Mail Online says it has created 50 new reporting jobs in Australia.

A News Corp Australia spokesman said: "We stand by the fact that we believe the Daily Mail Australia is breaching our copyright by lifting substantial slabs of original content from a large number of articles from our mastheads."

Topics in this article : ,

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network