The final update on my stolen magpie image.
- to eat crow: to admit that one was wrong or accept that one has been defeated
My title may make it appear like I’m gloating about this outcome or rubbing their noses in it. Far from it. But I want to strongly make the point that our actions have consequences.
This crow isn’t eating crow, it’s only eating something. But I had to come up with a photo of some kind and I figured readers were tired of seeing my pilfered magpie image…
Late yesterday afternoon I finally heard from Susan Eirich, Executive Director of Earthfire Institute, the organization that stole my magpie image, used it on their website and attributed it to another photographer despite my copyright watermark being on the photo. She sent me two emails within an hour while I was napping.
Short of copying and pasting her emails into this blog post I’ll try to accurately paraphrase her primary points while quoting her at times.
- she twice apologized for what Earthfire Institute had done and I thought her apologies were sincere
- she “instructed our webmaster to go back and check that every photo we have is properly credited – a big job but an ethically critical one”
- she didn’t know how the lapse occurred other than “My only excuse is that in a very small and understaffed non-profit I was not able to supervise everything all the time and this slipped through the cracks”
- she also said “our current web content manager is meticulous about such things. The post is from 2016 and the issue occurred before she began at Earthfire. The responsibility is mine”
Susan obviously understands Harry Truman’s “The buck stops here” principle and that’s refreshing. I appreciate that she took responsibility for what a previous staff member had apparently done.
My only disappointment is that it took as long as it did for them to contact me. Earthfire Institute obviously knew about their culpability at least as early as Monday morning when they deleted my image more than 24 hours after I published my first blog post on the infringement. But they didn’t contact me until nearly a day and a half later after I’d published my second blog post on the subject.
And that makes me somewhat suspicious about the motivation for the apology. Was it because they sincerely regret their lapse in judgment and ethics or because their only concern was trying to repair their public image after I’d published two blog posts on the subject and many of my readers publicly expressed dismay and disappointment that I hadn’t at least received an apology, especially from a non-profit organization like Earthfire Institute that on the surface at least has admirable and honorable goals.
At this point I’m prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt. Susan’s apologies seemed heartfelt and sincere and after all, who among us doesn’t make mistakes. And at least on some level I can’t blame them for wanting to repair their reputation.
Readers can now breathe a sigh of relief – barring unforeseen developments this will be my last blog post on the subject. I’m getting tired of it and I’ll bet everyone else is too. But quite a few readers asked me to keep you updated and I promised I would.
Ron
Notes:
- Credit where credit’s due. Susan also responded appropriately to two of my readers who publicly chastised Earthfire Institute for stealing my magpie image. Those comments and Susan’s responses to them can be seen at the bottom of EI’s original post that no longer includes my magpie image.
- About an hour after I published this post I heard from Susan a third time. Among other things she said “The delay was that my excellent webmaster, who works remotely, caught it and took appropriate action but I was away at a retreat (focused on seeing what we can do about reversing the rate of extinctions) and unreachable and she felt it had to be me to respond.” I presume the “appropriate action” she mentioned was deleting my image from their website. I’m now convinced of Susan’s sincerity and her intention for EI to behave ethically.
This is good news. 🙂
I’m glad it turned out as well as it did, Shelley.
I’m glad you chose to see it as a mistake. Conservationists need to support one another, especially during these political times.
Lydia, I hope I chose to see it as it really was. I think I did.
Sounds like they’ll be more careful going forward, which is good. Super crow picture — they are beautiful animals. There’s a murder that hangs out in our neighborhood and loves the front yards in our culdesac, so I get to watch (and listen to) their antics on a regular basis.
Thanks, Marty. I see crows often in winter but I rarely photograph them because they’re nearly always in urban or suburban settings.
Excellent to read. And her apologies ring true to me.
Thanks, EC. Me too.
Revenge is a dish best served cold. .
And there’s some truth to that old proverb, Martha. And revenge has its place. But in this case revenge wasn’t my primary motivation for making this public, even in the beginning.
Good outcome, well done!!
Trust is tough, it needs to be earned. Once earned tougher to go back if broken!
The wind hasn’t ceased being 10-20, gusts 30-40, cool to dam cold! Can’t wait for the flowers to show, I’m done with winter!!
Thanks, Dick. Nothing but clouds and rain around here. I’m sick of it.
Glad to hear of the outcome. A public fuss needed to be made. Thanks for these posts, Ron.
Thank you, Kath.
Perhaps the crow is eating humble pie. OK, enough rubbing it in. Acknowledgement of one’s mistake is honorable. And, au contraire, I will never tire of the magpie image.
“Acknowledgement of one’s mistake is honorable”
Lyle, I agree. Especially when the acknowledgement is this public.
I really appreciate it when I hear someone say, “The responsibility is mine.” I’m in my 80’s and that is something my generation was taught from childhood. Unfortunately not so much anymore. “I know that happened on my watch, but you know – it really wasn’t my fault.” Glad they took the time to contact you and take responsibility Ron. Now you can move on to more great photos.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
Thanks, Everett. I’m looking forward to “moving on” and I’ll bet everyone else is too.
You have their attention at any rate………. Hopefully it’s sincere and they continue to be vigilant plus the very public way this played out may make “some” others consider their actions a bit. 😉
“the very public way this played out may make “some” others consider their actions a bit”
That’s actually the main reason I made such a big deal out of this, Judy. It wasn’t to be vindictive and humiliate Earthfire Institute, it was to publicize some of the potential consequences of image theft and hopefully reduce how often it occurs. I DESPISE copyright infringement and image theft, whether I’m the victim or it’s someone else.
Good to know. I’m glad she took responsibility even if it happened before her time.
Me too, Arwen. It wasn’t “before her time” but it was before the time that their current Web Content Manager worked for them.
Ah! It’s a good lesson for all of them then. Verify your sources
Seems legit. You may never know for sure, but the words backed up the action taken…seems good to go. I too would give them the benefit of the doubt on this one. Thanks for the follow up.
I think her apology was probably “legit” too, Zaph. Perhaps she had both motivations and there’s nothing wrong with that.