Tom Powell
IT seems like the impossible task, producing a 100-plus page newspaper while giving ads away for free.
WW: Oct 9
Especially given there are just five members of staff listed as producing Weekend World, none of whom is a journalist.
Yes, something doesn’t quite stack up.
Well now the Olive Press can finally reveal just how it works.
As well as failing to pay sales staff (and others to boot) publisher Stan Israel also fails to pay journalists; instead simply lifting numerous stories word-for-word from other publications and websites.
Indeed, at least five stories in the most recent issue have been copied verbatim from European news provider thelocal.es, while others were lifted wholesale from websites including Spanish News Today.
Not just nicking the stories, intros and conclusions, Weekend World even has the chutzpah to use the same headlines AND standfirsts.
But it is not good news for Stan, with the Stockholm-based media group, the Local, now threatening legal action.
“The Local takes any sort of plagiarism very seriously,” said Spanish editor Fiona Govan, a former Telegraph correspondent. “We are making urgent enquiries and will take all necessary steps to protect our copyright, including legal action where appropriate.”
Meanwhile, Zoe Cooper, editor of Spanish News Today, said: “It’s outrageous – and it makes me incredibly angry when I see my team’s work lifted.
“In fact, I come down like a ton of bricks and sue anyone committing internet piracy,” added Cooper, who has been running the site from Murcia for seven years.
In response, Israel said: “Many articles are provided to us as press releases, via our paid subscription to new agencies so obviously stories will on occasion be the same.”
