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81 Comments
- moojj, on 10/12/2007, -2/+56Anyone who thinks this doesn't happen is kidding themselves. Unfortunately this sort of thing is happening on our TV networks, in our press and even on our radios. Unfortunately, money talks (and in some cases, money also silences).
- christianjb, on 10/12/2007, -3/+45Disgraceful. Everything PC world writes will be tainted until this mess is cleared up. Good for him for resigning.
- CountSpongeBob, on 10/12/2007, -2/+31What a bad move - alienating readers who want to get more objective information about products and services.
- RavagesOfTime, on 10/12/2007, -0/+26I'm amazed. Seriously. In this day and age that there are people in high positions in business that are actually willing to put themselves on the line for their stances and ideals, even if it means resigning.
- hootdoodie, on 10/12/2007, -2/+23This is why we like Consumer Reports. Even though they don't get it right every time.
- mrlost117, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17too bad his first name wasnt Phil
- KicktheDonkey, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15This is why I stopped reading computer magazines in the late nineties. They all seemed to be shills for the major companies that advertised in their magazines.
The only magazine that I subscribe to now is Consumer Reports. They can report unbiasedly because they're entirely subscriber supported. - Eldoo77, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Hating on Apple isn't a crime! It's the natural thing for an unbiased technical writer to write about gripes about any platform -- including Apple.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9All news media is heavily filtered/biased, try to keep in mind as you are watching it that "you are being manipulated". The more you are aware of that fact, the more you will see the bias.
Also keep in mind that they don't want you to *think* while watching the news, they tell you the news so that you will think a certain way on any given subject. They do not want you have an opinion, they want simple compliance, and they want you to be interested the commercials. The more you sit around thinking about how you have to have a New F-150, the less you will think about Iraq, Global Warming, pine beetles, etc.
In case you didn't know, its immoral for them to show human misery one second then a commercial for shoes the next. Profiting from human misery is what they do, its all they do, under the guise of "keeping us informed". Ya right. - AxeSwinger, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Ash
Unless you disclose who you are and how you have access to IDG management to have an exchange of emails, I'm going to look as your post as damage control from IDG with no credibility and digg you down. If I'm wrong sorry but your post just does not ring true to me. - biofishfreak, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7If only this could be cleared up... Due to the sad reality of the media -which earns all of its income from advertising, regardless of what format- advertisers always hold a certain level of control over what content is reported. Its almost a form of unspoken blackmail. Nobody says anything directly, there is nothing in print, but anyone with some common sense knows that slandering the wallet holder means the flow of cash will run dry.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5 Sadly enough, I doubt this will change. I suspect it will worsen over time.
Women's magazines were notorious for this for years.(and still are)
Not only did the staff have to avoid stories that were critical of major advertisers,
they had to write content around said advertiser's ads.
The first women's magazine to buck the system was MS.
Anyway,it's a sad day for all that this is occuring on line as well...it just shows what a strangle hold big corporations are getting on the control of content.
- kenvsryu, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Ahh a man with integrity, not selling out to sponsors and not letting it affect him. Rare around these parts.
- KicktheDonkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"There was quite a hooplah recently over CR's evaluation of car seats."
Yes, there was. However, they quickly re-tracked the report when serious questions came to light. Then, they published a 4 page explanation of what they did, where they went wrong, and how they were going to fix it in the future.
What other magazine is going to do that?
It's okay to screw up. So long as you admit to it and figure out a way to reduce the chances of the same mistake re-occurring. - lars972, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Consumer Reports is the bomb...not perfect but damn they are good. In a recent issue they even posted a big apology regarding a company that had printed "rated best by consumer reports" and had the company remove the phrase from all advertising. That's some integrity.
- gregpc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Harry is a friend of mine and someone I've known for 15+ years. He and I spoke about this as soon as I heard the news. Rather than demonstrating the lack of integrity of the media, Harry's actions show that people in the media do care and do their best to stand up for their beliefs.
- Heretic36, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Honestly,
How many people read this crap anyway?
Rags like PC World exist solely as a means for advertisers to hawk their wares. No enough people pay cover price for the magazine for them to recoup their costs so they have to depend almost exclusively on advertisers. That is a failed business model, and it is happening in every old school information medium. That is sad if you ask me, but its also not such a bad thing. It is what has created Digg, an avenue for alternative news collection that bypasses the force feeding of crap we usually get from the mainstream media. - alphacoder, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I remember several years ago when I was doing consulting, a lot of clients in small and medium-sized businesses would often refer to products they saw written up in PC World and PC Magazine. My colleagues and I noticed that when they would insist on model X of some computer or version Y of some software, soon afterwards they would abandon the said product and look for alternatives. This was back in the late 1990's and around 2000-2001, not a single client ever references those two magazines again.
I think those magazines - like so many other media channels - are heavily biased which is a function of their composition. If they manage to piss off too many advertisers, they lose their revenue. Of course if they would take an honest approach, maybe they'll earn reader trust once again. - mister711, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4What about Reader's Digest? They do not allow ads as well.
- gregpc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I know Harry well - since his days at InfoWorld Direct back up in Peterborough NH. He'll certainly end up somewhere good - not just because he's a good writer but because he's a good and principled guy.
- EmailAddress, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Assisting the consumer comes in at 2nd, filling your pockets with $$$$ comes in at 1st.
- Dayyve, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"'Ten Things We Hate About Apple.' It was a ***** article that should get any journalist fired."
I always knew Apple-ites were closet fascists. - Krakn3Dfx, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Maximum PC and Ziff Davis publications do this as well, you don't have to read too far into an article from either to see their clear bias in favor of one company or another. I cancelled my MAximum PC sub due to their constant ass kissing of PC Power and Cooling, Plextor, and Creative Labs due to the heavy advertising money coming into their company from these hardware makers.
It's disgusting how 1984 we've become in the last 8-10 years, you can't get a straight, honest story or review from anywhere anymore. - JQP123, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"I mean, If I'm reading a magazine and I know that all the companies advertised in it are somehow protected from every critic, why would I bother even reading it?"
I don't have a good answer. Perhaps this is why print magazines are struggling.
At the same, you'd have to be pretty naive not to consider the obvious conflict of interest when reading a review of a major advertiser's product. I wouldn't continue to support a magazine that trashed my product, would you? Most companies won't either and the magazines know this. The connection is pretty elementary --- trash the product and wave goodbye to the ad revenue. Continue along this path and wave goodbye the magazine soon. The strange with the article is that the guy is just now figuring all this out. - R0CKY, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I've seen this happen with another of the big UK magazines. I was talking with the editor about the failings of a major UK ISP a few years back, and they were going to run a story on it as the editor himself had the same experience. The whole thing was dropped after the ISP placed some full page ads.
- Terminaltor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3ok, let's boycott pcworld
It's sad that journalists have become coporate cheerleaders, very sad - Takfam, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3As much as I agree that readers want objective reports, they most likely weren't getting objectivity in the first place. I work for one of the largest publishers in the US. We have writers, but they're mostly just there to make sure that everything fits policy so we don't get sued. We get most of our article material from, you guessed it, advertisers. Our sales representatives even give away some free article space if a client buys a big enough ad in a magazine.
Objective reporting is a joke. As was said above by aegisgfx, very few "news" items in the media are designed to give you an objective stance and make you think to decide your opinion. They are designed to make a good little consumer a better big consumer. - esteban999, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The funny thing is, at IDG there is a frenzy to drive more and more traffic online, and I can see an article titled "ten things I hate about apple" driving some serious traffic.
- TimDigg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2pine beetles?
I didn't even know about that one - Mystero39701, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3First off, they did mention the name of the article in CNet. It is in the fourth paragraph.
Second, why is it a ***** article? I love my apple computer, but there are still things I hate about it. I believe a potential buyer should have all the resources it needs to make an informed decision. I am sorry if this fluffs your fanboy feathers but apple is not perfect. - banjokelly, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3If he did resign just over the SVP Crawford's killing the "Ten things we hate about apple" story then he's a hero in my book. Until we hear it from the horses mouth though there could have been a lot of other reasons for it. SVP Crawford has denied it was the reason let's remember.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The best censorship is always self - censorship.
Ask yourself: Am I avoiding being critical of something / someone b/c of what other people will think?
It's like an extension of high school peer pressure... - AxeSwinger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Ash,
Thank you for the reply. I'm surprised you got a response from him; I would have expected to be relegated to the trash folded....let's here it for the Internets. - Dayyve, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Well if you really do know Harry he is a great writer and I'm sure he'll end up on his feet somewhere. I love these stories when one man/woman takes a stand; to give up a good job like that for integrity == remind the rest of us idiots that money is not everything.
- Ashcan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1AxeSwinger:
How do I have "...access to have access to IDG management.."? I emailed the guy (I found his email address is on his personal blog) and he emailed me back. There's no special access other than the fact that Crawford took to the time to hit the reply button. - rowlodge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1way all moderators are..."power trip"
- uselessexpert, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Ditto! Me too...and in top of that, all the freaking ads and subscription cards drove me nuts!
- websterphreaky, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Wow! All these comments and NOT A SINGLE ONE NOTING THAT IT WAS APPLE'S IRON BOOT that stomped out Free Press Commentary at PC World! Who the hell do you think those "advertisers" were that complained (and probably threatened to pull the few remaining advertising dollars from toilet paper thin sister publication (and PR Extension for Apple) Macworld magazine???
Either you are ALL STUPID or you are ALL APPLE KOOL AID DRINKERS!! This the way Jack Booted Stevie Gods err Jobs works, FOOLS! Denial is not a way to live your lives, fools. - IceUck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If you want to support unbiased reviews, get a subscription to consumer reports (either in print, or their website). You're supporting a good cause, and I use it every time I make a non-trivial purchase.
- zeejay, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's just too bad he resigned over what sounds like a trite "fluff" piece, the likes of which we've already seen countless times. And the likes of which are there for shock value, at the expense of actually useful content. Meh.
- DirkBelig, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I suppose if they were going to bash on Micro$oft, you'd have no complaints of bias to offer, but when it's Apple...hoo boy, no one talks bad about Master Jobs on your watch and lives to tell about it!
- JQP123, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Aww, stop it, you're making me all misty-eyed just THINKING about those poor media companies. ;)"
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/TOP%20STORY/537376/ - tememurr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Well, I can tell you that I trust Consumer Reports much more than any ad-supported mag. Anyone ever read car magazines - they are the absolute worst paid-for-by-manufacturer rags around...
- okaroleo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Same here. I try to read small internet publications because at least they are not already sold out (even if they want to be).
They also tend to have decent benchmarks for comparison, not just praise for the product. I tend to look at ads in the magazines anyhow and then see if there is a lot of products featured in the ~zine frmo said advertiser. If there is a lot of both i never buy, it's too obvious marketing.
Give that man "Spine Of The Year" award!
I like Reader's Digest, it's one publication i can safely buy and not be worried if it's a marketing piece. - brainspout, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1That sucks! Perhaps one of the last unbiased media men is gone... Hopefully PC World will get their act together as I would hate to have to go back to reading PC Magazine. Btw, WTF has happened to PC Magazine - if I wanted to read an automobile magazine I'D SUBSCRIBE TO ONE, if I wanted to read a travel guide I'D SUBSCRIBE TO ONE. I just let my subscription to PCMag expire earlier this year as PC World was clearly the better read, timing is everything I suppose...
I just can't go back to PC MAG, can anyone recommend a casual magazine for a computer nerd? - Terminaltor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Patrick norton of dl.tv is a perfect example of a corporate carpet muncher, the sad thing is it's asslickers like him that get promoted to higher positions within the company they work for
- xspinkickx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I am glad that this editor had the convictions to quit, and not be bought.
- Ashcan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Figured I would add this to my last comment in case anyone else is interested...this is how I found Colin Crawford's email address:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Colin+Crawford+blog+IDG
Then I just went straight to his blog at:
http://colincrawford.typepad.com/
You'll find his Gmail address listed. And yes, it is the Colin Crawford who is a Veep at IDG. - cam18, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Patrick Norton?
- hibbert, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Go Harry
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