‘No attempt to steal photograph from rival’
EDITOR Thomas Sinclair has been accused of Photoshopping a rival publication’s picture.
The Ceredigion Herald printed a front-page picture on April 28 of Gordon Fleming, 66, who had pleaded guilty to 24 counts of indecent assault against girls under the age of 13.
Cambrian News reporter Chris Betteley recognised the picture and suggested it was in fact an edited version of a shot taken by one of his paper’s staff photographers. Mr Betteley tweeted: “Want to nick Cambrian News pic but worried they’ll notice? Easy! Just flip the face and photoshop it on another body. No one will ever know.”
Under copyright law you cannot use someone else’s photo without permission. Doing so can result in a hefty bill from the copyright owner.
When approached for comment, Thomas Sinclair, editor of the Ceredigion Herald, said there was no attempt to steal the photo.
Mr Sinclair said: “We bought a photo last Thursday of Fleming and published it in good faith. We pay £20 for all images and are investigating the accusation it may have been Photoshopped.
“If we had known it was Photoshopped there is no chance we would have used it as we can get one from the police.
“We went for the paid one for speed for the front page. There was no attempt to steal the photo from Cambrian News.”