Slashdot Mirror
Are Media Writers Biased Towards Apple?
Art Vanderlay writes "Readers should not be surprised by overcoverage of Apple Computers since the tech writers and columnists for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and Fortune are all Mac users. According to John Dvorak of PC Mag, no one seems to point out the connection between the skewed coverage and the existence of this peculiar conflict of interest based on the national writers' use of Macs. He feels the newsroom editors are generally so out of touch that they can't see this bias and are also Mac users." From the article: "This reality is not going to change. In fact it will only get worse as technology coverage is handed to newer, less-qualified observers who simply cannot use a Microsoft Windows computer. With no Microsoft-centric frame of reference, Microsoft cannot look good. The company essentially brought this on itself with various PR and marketing policies that discouraged knowledgeable coverage. I'll save those complaints for a future gripe session."
It's funny, a lot of the old Amiga crowd must have bought Apple computers, since I see a lot fo the old arguments recycled.
Like "why not get an XBox/PS2 if you like games" used as a defence when the point about lack of games on the Mac is mentioned.
Wow I feel sorry for you mac people. On our Windows Systems there is a scrollbar, so anything we really don't like we can just scroll past it. I have to see, this lack of functionality makes me even less interested in adopting a mac.
I don't know if I'd call it a "conflict of interest" that a journalist is covering Apple while using a Mac, as Dvorak does (can nobody write about the machine they actually use?)
No, just that Mac stories should be written by Windows users and Windows stories should be written by Windows users (and Linux stories shouldn't be written).
Not my opinion.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?