
The way tech covers Apple is ridiculous - libovness
http://scripting.com/2013/10/22/theWayTechCoversAppleIsRidiculous
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Camillo
This article is not about Apple, it's about the tech press's failure to
uncover big stories such as the NSA case. Yet the author chose to tack on a
cookie-cutter lede about Apple and to make the title about Apple. Seems
hypocritical.

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stcredzero
_the author chose to tack on a cookie-cutter lede about Apple and to make the
title about Apple. Seems hypocritical._

Also, seems like an effective demonstration of the very point he's making.

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JacksonGariety
I'd be interested to hear from the author if this was on purpose.

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ritchiea
The problem is that "tech journalists" tend to actually be business
journalists. They aren't investigative journalists looking to uncover the
workings and untrue assumptions of society increasingly dependent on tech.
Most of them do just want to cover new companies & new products & other
business news. Many of them invest in those very companies or have spouses in
that business community. Yes it is a problem the way tech covers Apple
compared to the way tech covers NSA. But what it reveals is that tech
journalists aren't the type of journalists we need (definitely not journalists
in the 4th branch of government sense) and that investigative journalists need
to learn more about tech.

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JVIDEL
Are there any non-business journalists left? last time I checked CNN had no
war correspondents anymore and most news sites have turned into gossip rags
not that different from tabloids a decade ago.

I think the core problem is that tech is not so important for most people to
care about the wrongdoings of the industry and because no pageviews=no money
then nobody runs the story.

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pessimizer
Stop thinking of it as tech news and think of it as tech business news. It's
news for investors, people who would like to be invested in, fashion-conscious
consumers, and people who enjoy living vicariously through all three groups.

A blog that focused on computer technology would rarely have features on
Apple, because they rarely (if ever?) innovate on technology. Also no one
cares, other than techies, and it would be covered as badly as all other
popular science, by non-techies.

People care about Apple because it can make (or lose) them money, or it
provides conversational material amongst people who share an interest in the
current fashion of that brand.

The coverage of different fashion houses, their shows, collections, brands,
and retailers they're selling to or who are showing interest isn't materially
different than popular tech coverage.

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san86
A good point to note is that none of the major reports on snowden leaks came
from tech journalists. The best op-eds and reporting came from the Guardian,
WaPo and other main stream outlets. This speaks volumes about the path taken
by Tech Journalists. Having said that, I am not sure tech news sites
(mashable, techcrunch, cnet etc) are capable of "newsie" stuff. A lot of the
top "Reporters" who established the industry were techies first, journalists
next. We need more traditional journalists understanding and writing about the
tech industry (not in a naive way, which is what happens in traditional
outlets these days) in a competent manner. This will probably lead to the kind
of journalism the author hopes for

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basicallydan
I think you meant "The way the press covers tech is ridiculous".

Regardless, you've got a good point. As the press adapts to new technology
influencing the way it does reporting, so much it adapt to the subjects which
it reports on. This is an ongoing process and I think that it is happening.
The NSA case is actually a good example of that, since although maybe it could
have been covered in a better way, or earlier (as seems to be your point), it
was still covered quite comprehensively and continues to be covered by many
organisations.

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thehme
I think this author should have used the title "The way journalists cover tech
is ridiculously bad", which would be true of all sectors. I do think that
there are definitely legitimate tech aspects in current events, like the NSA
and HealthCare.gov, that should be addressed by experts. Instead we have
critics who try to "explain" what is wrong with the technology, etc. revealing
their incompetence to those who actually know/understand the topic. Really
tech savvy people should definitely make an effort to debunk claims that are
made by non-experts on tech topics, and not just share there knowledge amongst
already tech savvy people.

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jimparkins
This dude looses me half way through - I think that adults can
compartmentalise and choose between international news and hobby tech news.
And lets not forget that modern technology is freekin incredible and Apple is
the premier brand.

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timdiggerm
> Where were all the comp sci grads going? Some were going to Redmond and
> Silicon Valley for sure. But a lot of them were going to Maryland and
> Virginia.

Well that's hardly a story, and not the point of the Snowden leaks.

> Why were none of these stories broken before? Couldn't sources have been
> found to talk off the record? Weren't there people of conscience inside the
> tech companies who might tell the truth?

What if they're all okay with the things they know about?

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mikeryan
There seems to be some confusion here. Covering an Apple product announcement
isn't "tech news" its the the "tech news" equivalent of People Magazine. You
can't look at their coverage and say its stealing coverage away from "real
tech news" any more then People Magazine steals eyeballs from the Financial
Times.

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Segmentation
Tech covers Apple for page views and advertisement impressions. Don't take it
personally. They're businesses. They're just doing what makes fiscal sense.
They'll get far more revenue from Apple articles than Snowden.

Apple events are extremely popular in the media because the media participates
in circle-jerking. Decades ago Apple did not have as much media spotlight, but
after key hardware releases (e.g. iPod, iMac) the media began to grow its
spotlight on Apple. They knew people loved reading about Apple, so they
continued to place all bets on spotlighting Apple during its events knowing
the return would be high. Even if Apple was not having an event, the media
would artificially build hype by spreading rumors about Apple products,
knowing readers would click.

The media does this with everything. Celebrity scandals, politics, etc.

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BashiBazouk
Does this guy not get how journalism is structured? The senior reporter
handles the big stories. The lesser reporters handle the tech releases. It's a
bit muddled in the modern digital world but not as much as this guy would like
to have you believe. Got pages to fill and there is too much news for a single
person. Look back at any major story. The explosive headline/story about the
JFK assassination or 911 was followed a few sections in by home and gardens,
and entertainment. I've seen many more NSA stories since the Snowden story
broke than apple stories both here, other tech blogs, and general news sites I
follow.

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saltyknuckles
He only jabs at Apple but this happens with any new consumer product. The
title is very miss leading; it should be "The way tech covers tech is
ridiculous."

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timmaah
How about "The way media covers apple is ridiculous."?

Not every new consumer product gets a mention on national nightly news when a
new iteration arrives. I find that odd and gives less credibility to the news
organization in my mind.

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joeblau
The reason is that the press is waiting for Apple to drop that next hit as
they did with the iPhone, iPod etc. They want to be there when it happens and
report it first. The thing is that in between those hits, you have down
periods where Apple is just going to put out incremental updates, add colors,
change sizes and change materials. When that hit drops, every press outlet
wants to say "This is where you heard it first."

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adamb_
It's not that tech news it out-of-whack, people (albeit non-technical) care
about the latest iPad. Such events represent for "tech reporters" short
windows to report on something that a broader audience will consume &
appreciate.

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taopao
Online news is about chasing pageviews, not conveying truth or looking out for
the public interest. It pays them more to milk the bajeezus out of Apple
events by spinning each minor bullet point into complete articles.

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angryasian
Its all about page views. Apple has a very loyal fanbase

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lh7777
Also a very large anti-fanbase.

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paperairplane
Well whatever the case, they get coverage because they know it will get
attention and interest from people. They write whats gonna be read. Either
thats people reading how bad the new Apple products are or how new and
innovative they are.

