Photographer Accuses Publisher Of Stealing Archive

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The New York Sun

A freelance photographer has accused America’s top publisher of supermarket tabloids of filing an insurance claim for millions of dollars worth of celebrity photographs, even though the firm knew it did not own the pictures.

The photo archive, which includes images of the Clintons, Princess Diana, and Frank Sinatra, as well as the funeral of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, was contaminated with anthrax in 2001 through a letter sent to the American Media, Incorporated headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla. A photo editor for American Media, Robert Stevens, later died from anthrax exposure.

No one has been charged with sending anthrax to American Media, or to other press outlets that received anthrax-laden mail at about the same time, including ABC, NBC, and the New York Post.

Last year, a Virginia-based photojournalist, Greg Mathieson, who was a regular contributor to American Media tabloids, such as the National Enquirer, the Star, and the Globe, filed a federal lawsuit seeking more than $2 million for about 1,400 of his photos caught up in the anthrax attack. The photographer alleges that American Media failed to protect the archive and, in essence, stole it after the anthrax contamination.

Earlier this month, the judge overseeing the suit, Donald Middlebrooks, unsealed documents showing that American Media told Travelers Insurance that the Boca Raton publishing headquarters contained “valuable papers” worth $250 million.

The tabloid publisher claimed what it said was a policy limit of $15.7 million for the papers lost due to the anthrax and about $22 million for lost office equipment, data, and income, according to court pleadings.

Travelers ultimately paid $17 million to American Media for the contamination.

“AMI submitted a claim for property it did not own and for losses it did not incur,” a lawyer for Mr. Mathieson, Mark Journey, wrote in a letter filed with the court.

Mr. Mathieson’s lawyers claim that after Travelers asked for details on the valuation of the archive and the major suppliers of photos, American Media discouraged the insurance company from contacting the photographers.

The freelancer’s legal team also alleged that American Media’s general counsel, Michael Kahane, falsely certified that all of the contents of the archive belonged to the firm.

In a deposition, Mr. Kahane said the $250 million valuation covered the company’s indexed archive of back issues, known as a “clip library,” as well as photos and periodicals. He said the “irreplaceable” clip library was regularly consulted by the New York Times and Washington Post, and had a value well in excess of the $15.7 million the firm sought from Travelers. Mr. Kahane said a consultant unfamiliar with copyright law caused the freelancers’ photos to be included in the initial $250 million valuation.

In March, Judge Middlebrooks dismissed the negligence claims against the publisher, ruling that the anthrax attack was “an unforeseeable criminal event for which AMI cannot be held liable.” However, the judge said the photographer could proceed with his claim that he and the firm had an agreement that he would be paid if the photos were destroyed, regardless of fault.

Mr. Mathieson, who regularly covers the White House, claims he had an agreement with a former American Media photo editor, Robert DeMarco, to be paid $1,500 for each lost photo. Mr. Mathieson and his former editor testified that figure is in line with industry norms, but the tabloid house contends the figure is grossly inflated.


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