But it had its employees working to make sure the journalists assembled didn’t try to do much actual journalism. SearchEngineLand’s Danny Sullivan reports:
When I went to Desktop on Surface & selected Screen Resolution it was jerked out of my hands - “Nice trick” I was told
Which shows pretty clearly just how much these unveilings are about press manipulation (good for Sullivan for reporting this). Think of these events as live-action press releases, ads, and infomercials all rolled up into one. Would folks go all exclamation-pointy if Microsoft fanned out this information on PR Newswire?
As I wrote back in 2009:
It’s all carefully choreographed instanews that gives the reporter no chance to call, say, a skeptical analyst or a book publisher or really to add much context at all. In other words, by going along with this kind of thing, news organizations risk putting themselves in the business of advertising for the corporation—or at least issuing a sort of dynamic press release.
And much of the tech press still, with what’s no longer a new form, keeps playing along.
UPDATE: Reuters this morning, with the benefit of a few hours and some calls: “Microsoft Corp’s new tablet computers are no threat to Apple Inc’s iPad, given the lack of enthusiasm among developers to create applications that run on the new Windows operating system, analysts said.”
That Microsoft. They're too privaty and free-markety and stuff. They should be more govt-friendly, like Warren Buffet and Jamie Dimon and... oh, wait...
#1 Posted by Dan A., CJR on Tue 19 Jun 2012 at 02:52 PM
I can say that being critical can certainly have an impact... in the opposite direction. At PhoneNews.com we have found that the big three (Apple, Google, and Microsoft) have limited our access to press events over the years, whereas carriers in the wireless industry have chosen not to limit our access, in general.
It creates an antagonistic relationship when you have to investigate why companies are locking you out, and a moral hazard when those companies provide access... and direct ad dollars. It's a tough line, and the over-saturated state of play in online media doesn't make it easier to handle.
#2 Posted by Christopher P., CJR on Fri 22 Jun 2012 at 04:29 PM
If you are willing to buy a car, you would have to get the personal loans. Furthermore, my mother commonly utilizes a college loan, which is the most reliable.
#3 Posted by GreeneLakisha23, CJR on Sat 30 Jun 2012 at 11:44 AM