• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, November 15, 2010

Judith Griggs, the editor and publisher of Cooks Source magazine, now says she might shutter the 13-year-old publication in wake of the commotion that erupted after it came to light that the magazine had lifted a blogger's article.

"I'm trying to figure out what to do next," she told the Daily Hampshire Gazette. "I don't know if I can last through this."

Griggs told the Gazette that she doesn't fully understand copyright issues -- which was obvious from her initial response to blogger Monica Gaudio, whose blog post about apple pie recipes from the Middle Ages was lifted by the magazine for its October issue.

When Gaudio learned that her piece had been reprinted she demanded an apology in print and a $130 donation to Columbia Journalism School. Instead, Griggs sent a condescending response stating that not only was Gaudio's material (and that of every other online writer) in the public domain, but that she should thank Griggs for having edited the piece.

Gaudio blogged Griggs' message, the post was picked up by the Twitterverse, and within 24 hours indignant Web users vented their outrage on the magazine's Facebook page. Web users also launched their own investigation of the magazine, finding dozens of other instances of alleged copyright infringement.

Last week Cooks Source apologized to Gaudio and said it had made the donation to Columbia Journalism School that she requested. But if the magazine has really lifted other pieces (other than lists of ingredients, which probably aren't copyrightable) it faces potential liability of up to $150,000 in damages per incident.

Given the potential exposure, keeping the magazine running might be the least of Griggs' concerns right now.