Assessing Media Bias: Microsoft Vs. Everyone Else

snydeq writes "J. Peter Bruzzese questions whether Microsoft receives unfair criticism in the media, while Apple, Facebook, and Google seem to get away from missteps unscathed. 'I've noticed an unfair, ongoing trend: If Microsoft does something a little off, it gets bashed into the ground for it. But if Google, Facebook, or Apple (all three of which can be categorized, like Microsoft, as The Man in their own rights) missteps, it generally gets mild reprimands and even support from the media and those drinking the Kool-Aid.' Do you feel any inherent media bias in its coverage of the tech industry?"

Comments

There is a huge positive bias

[Anonymous Coward]

towards Apple.

Re:There is a huge positive bias

[sgrover]

Their former tactics are still at play. They've just learned to hide them better. Like getting surrogate companies to do their will (may I direct you towards the SCO vs IBM and Oracle vs Google cases? Form your own opinion of course...)

Re:There is a huge positive bias

[Anonymous Coward]

Nevermind that Microsoft invented the basis of AJAX, XMLHttpRequest, which other browsers ended up copying to start the entire Web 2.0 era right? And they changed a web browser from something you had to buy to something that was free and shipped with every operating system.

Other than that, Microsoft has done nothing but hold back the web.

Re:Media vs tech media

[MightyMartian]

The media always goes after the biggest target. For much of the last two decades that has been Microsoft, but now as they're browser share slips badly and their latest foray into the smartphone market still isn't lighting fireworks, well, Apple is the guy to beat on. Google and Facebook get a lot more heat in Europe than here, maybe because everyone here has already sold their souls to those particular privacy devils already.

Frankly, I'm seeing a lot less negative MS stories on Slashdot these days. To some extent, I'm seeing a lot less Microsoft stories period. Desktops aren't sexy things any more, nobody really gives a crap about the next version of Windows. Windows 8 buzz lasts exactly as long as the space between the latest story on Google being bashed by German courts or Apple being nailed for the number of Chinese get buried for every thousand iPods produced. Microsoft is a middle aged company now, and it really isn't doing anything terribly interesting or even inflammatory, or at least nothing that's nearly as interesting as Apple getting nailed as part of an e-book cartel.

Re:Microsoft Deserves It

[nschubach]

Kinect was outright bought from another company if I remember correctly (PimeSense?). XBox I might give you but it's just a console running Microsoft Software... I would call it more evolution than innovation