Chatham Journal uses our photo without permission, takes down without explanation

We're scratching our heads this morning about how one of our photos, taken by Eric Ginsburg at the Moral Monday protests last week and published on our blog, ended up in the Chatham Journal alongside an article by NC Sen. Thom Goolsby bashing the demonstrators (see above).

After e-mailing Goolsby and the paper's editor, sending Goolsby a tweet and leaving a voicemail at the paper's office, the photo was replaced with an illustration.

Still, despite requests for an explanation for why the photo was taken without permission of the photographer or YES! Weekly, we're pretty confused. The Chatham Journal knows about buying copies of photos — they have a page on their website dedicated to selling images that appear in their publication.

So what gives? Our photograph was removed, but we still want an explanation. It's unclear to us whether Goolsby had anything to do with the photo's use, but he hasn't responded to our e-mail either. Also, we don't know yet whether the photo was run in print or just online. We're also a little confused that an e-mail to the editor of the publication bounced (which is why we left a voicemail).

Stay posted, we'll add an update when we get a response.

UPDATE (Tuesday, 2:30 pm): The editor of the Chatham Journal e-mailed our editor to apologize.

"We removed the yes image from the opinion piece on the web as soon as we became aware that we did not have permission to use it," the editor wrote. "Our apologies."

The response didn't explain who was responsible for the mistake or if it ran in print. We're still curious about exactly what happened.The e-mail also wasn't signed with the editor's name.

Goolsby's piece generated a pretty significant amount of public attention, including this dig on Buzzfeed.

UPDATE (Wednesday, 10:15 am): Goolsby's piece is really making the rounds, including a mention in the New York Times. Still no response from the paper's editor about how our photo ended up on their page with his article. Not a peep from Goolsby either.

How does the election affect the Piedmont Triad's political clout?

What does it mean for Guilford County to have a legislative delegation whose members are heavily weighted on the Democratic side (not counting partial representation by Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger and Stan Bingham) while both chambers of the General Assembly are flipping to the Republicans?

NC Senate:
27: Don Vaughan (D)
28: Gladys Robinson (D)

NC House:
57: Pricey Harrison (D)
58: Alma Adams (D)
59: Maggie Jeffus (D)
60: Marcus Brandon (D)
61: John Faircloth (R)
62: John Blust (R)

Notably, Adams and Jeffus both currently hold chairman seats on the House Appropriations Committee – seats now in jeopardy considering that incoming Republican House Speaker Skip Stam has the prerogative of appointing members of his own party to the plum positions on the committee in January.

And while Republicans are better represented in the Forsyth County, the delegation includes a prominent Democrat who is poised for a demotion with her party losing control of the Senate. Sen. Linda Garrou currently serves as one of the Senate’s four senior budget writers.

Turning eastward, Republican Thom Goolsby’s defeat of Democrat Jim Leutze in NC Senate District 9, the seat currently held by Democrat Julia Boseman, flipped that Wilmington seat and helped the GOP take control of the Senate. Goolsby’s party is pledging to balance the budget by cutting wasteful spending. During the campaign, Leutze warned that a Democratic loss could result in Wilmington and other coastal areas of the state losing clout: “We have a university here that we want funded. We have a community college here that we want funded. We have a port here that we want improved and the river dredged. We want better highways around Wilmington to deal with our traffic congestion…. We have the film industry that we want to have some subsidies and incentives for…. Political power in the state can move from this coastal region to the Piedmont in a heartbeat.”

Also election-related: Democrat Margaret Highsmith Dickson goes down in Fayetteville in the contest for the seat previously held by Tony Rand, following a round of gutter politics.