This one's a lot less irresponsible a rumor than we usually monger, because Hearst has actually been served with papers, but a tipster writes:

A small blow to the cozy relationship between editorial and advertorial?

Ron Reeves, a freelance photographer for Hearst, sued Hearst for willful copyright infringement and Tourneau for copyright infringement. Both papers were served to both companies last Friday.

Reeves was hired to set up and shoot a 24-page editorial called "Building Your Watch Wardrobe" for one Hearst magazine (please check w/Reeves's studio) which was then recycled (please check this too) into five 24-page advertorials for Harpers Bazaar, Town & Country, Esquire, Veranda, and Smart Money. The three days worth of work on the part of Reeves was also turned into a mailer AND an in-store brochure for the fancy watch brand.

Actually, the way we heard it was that Hearst did have rights to reuse the shots for the magazines, but not at all the mailer and brochure, hence the suit against Hearst and Tourneau. A source at Reeves' studio confirms the suit; a spokesperson for Hearst had not responded to our request for comment at the time we scheduled this item.