Right, left, Clinton, Fox, combustion
It was inevitable. Former President Bill Clinton...a live interview on Fox Network News...interviewer Chris Wallace. The question about Osama Bin Laden. Bill telling Chris he has a smirk on his face.
Not since Colbert did the D.C. Press Club has the Web had such a hot political video.
There are now many versions of this TV interview on YouTube. You can find pro-Clinton, and you can find anti-Clinton. Both of these clips have over half a million viewings already. There are numerous other Clinton/Wallace clips on YouTube as well.
Fox has apparently responded haltingly to the use of their copyrighted material. One YouTube thumbnail of Clinton clicks through to this message: "This video has been removed at the request of copyright owner Fox News Network, LLC, because its content was used without permission." One video down, many more to go.
Over on the Fox News site, there are clips of the Clinton interview and several clips about reaction to the interview.
In one clip, Fox says the video was the top traffic driver on its Web site, with no exact figures given. So no way to compare the traffic YouTube has gotten from Clinton with the traffic on Fox, which owns the copyright.
Still to be decided: Does YouTube have right to "fair use," and if so, how long could those clips be? Lawyers must be salivating. That prolonged legal battle is also inevitable. So stay tuned, or rather, stay online, for the outcome.
