Kathy Xu runs the eco-tourism company, The Dorsal Effect, which aims to stop the supply side of the shark finning trade and provide sustainable alternative income for shark fishermen.

Prior to The Dorsal Effect, Xu was a history and English teacher at a secondary school.

Well, on Sept. 23, 2014, The New Paper featured Xu.

Here it is:

Xu provided the photo as well.

To the letter

Two years later, Xu received quite a shock.

On Oct. 6, 2016, she received a few letters from Singapore Press Holdings regarding the aforementioned article, as well as two more articles on Shin Min Daily News and Lianhe Wanbao on the same topic.

Here are the two letters.

The letters basically requested Xu to take down the articles, of her, from her own website.

Or, she could continue hosting the article, but would have to pay a price.

1. S$642 for the use of one article up to one year.

2. S$214 to cover the processing fee.

The reaction to the letter was varied.

Some tried to put a humourous spin on it.

Others shared their own stories about SPH.

But, this comment summed up the problem most had with SPH's action.

To be fair, SPH have the right as the copyright belongs to them.

So, just take this as a cautionary tale for future interviewees -- your relationship with the press is not entirely mutually beneficial, as you would like to imagine, especially once there is money to be made and intellectual property comes into play.

Rule-of-thumb: Even if it is about you, it doesn't belong to you.

Top image from YouTube

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