Category: Journalism
The John Siracusa Lion Review
I printed it out this time around. It clocked in at 112 pages from Safari Reader. I can’t wait to dive into it this evening. If you are a Mac nerd by any stretch of the imagination, this is the review to read.
Thoughts on Review Writing
Last week, I wrote a little bit about the complications that can arise when writing about software.
But there’s a whole other side to writing in-depth reviews, like the one I published on OS X Lion.
While I am proud of the almost 3,000 words in that review, it was utterly exhausting to spend so much time digging into beta software, trying to explain things I discovered in a way that would be helpful for my readers. Coming up with ways to describe Launchpad and Mission Control isn’t as easy as it may seem.
Stitching a collection of informational tidbits and editorial opinions into something coherent with an actual point is mind-melting.
There’s a weight to all of this beyond the writing itself.
When Lion is released, there aren’t going to be many — if any — surprises in store for tech writers. Reviewing pre-release software takes away some of the magic of launch day.
Granted, the rush of publishing is usually enough to make up for it.
I guess what I’m trying to get around to saying is this: it’s such a relief to have this review out the door, and nerve-wrecking that people are finally reading it.
The iPad and Magazines
This is a great piece by Shawn Blanc. Instapaper it now.
Thurrott Accuses NYT of Being Anti-Microsoft, Pro-Apple
I’ve subscribed to The New York Times for over a decade now and … I just give up. This paper is so pro-Apple and so anti-Microsoft that it’s hard to excuse anymore. It’s blatant, it’s constant, and it’s too much.
When my kids ask me what “the pot calling the kettle black” means, I’m going to send them to this post.
Apple Insider Theorizes on iPad 3 Based on Photos of an Internal Cable
The More Things Change…
Dave Feldman, unveiling the TechCrunch redesign:
TechCrunch is bold. It’s raw. It’s fast-paced. With 50 articles crossing the home page daily we couldn’t simply redesign the reader-facing site; we had to think about the CMS too. We wanted to support you, the readers, because you read every article we post. We wanted to give you better context across posts and topics, new ways to slice and dice content so you can dig into what interests you. We get a huge amount of RSS traffic and wanted to keep providing a full experience to those readers too.
Good to see the staff members are still full of themselves, too.
David Pogue, Public Relations Appearances and the Independents
New York Times tech writer David Pogue is in the news, but not as usual.
NYT Public Editor Arthur S. Brisbane:
Journalists are accustomed to seeing public relations pitches in their inbox. I was surprised, though, when I recently got one on June 8 touting tech columnist David Pogue’s speech to PR professionals in which he credits PR with providing most of his ideas.
The pitch revealed that for $159 I could view a video of Pogue’s “Pitch Me, Baby” speech set for an online airing on July 11. The speech is derived from an earlier appearance at a public relations conference called the Media Relations Summit, staged by Ragan Communications.
Even to those not super familiar with the way newsrooms work, this should seem abnormal.
People working in public relations have a sole job — to get their company or product in the media. Of course, lots of little things go into this, like media packets, trying to schedule interviews and demos, providing review units and more.
In journalism school, a good bit of time is given to having proper relationships with PR professionals. If journalists get too close to the PR realm, the risk of tainted stories becomes a very real danger. In the better newsrooms, the mere appearance of this can get a journalist in trouble.
Of course, there is balance. PR people do help create stories about products, especially in the technology sector. But stories should be far more encompassing than just passing along some PR copy.
What About the Little Guys?
It’s a little different for those of us who write in the indie scene. Most of us with moderately popular websites get dozens of emails a week from PR firms about new websites, ad opportunities and more. For me, these are fairly easy to ignore.
It is much harder to ignore emails from individual developers. Many developers will offer App Store promo codes in exchange for a review.
Now, I don’t write many app reviews here or at Macgasm. I just don’t like reviewing software.[1. The one exception is OS X releases.]
Any hardware reviews are of devices I’ve purchased myself.
Some writers — especially inexperienced ones — struggle with publishing negative[2. Of course, some people complain about every single thing they review or discuss. I tend to tone that sort of writing out.] reviews. People don’t want to write something that could potentially hurt the business of independent developers.
The reality is that if a PR professional or developer reaches out for a coverage or a review, they should be prepared to receive the writer’s honest opinion.[3. And not blacklist the writer’s publication.]
Writing a positive review out of guilt is stepping over the line for a journalist — but so is getting too close to PR people or developers.
But these problems aren’t just stumbling blocks for small publishers. Here’s Brisbane again:
Times readers deserve to be assured that journalists don’t get too cozy with the P.R. professionals who strive to influence coverage. A virtual army of publicists, media specialists and others stands ready every day to infiltrate the news with stories that help their employers.
Chickenshit
I wouldn’t have pegged AllThingsD as being this unprofessional.
The Bearded One Gives Advice
Jim Dalrymple’s advice for tech writers:
Don’t be afraid to take a stand on a topic; Be honest with yourself and your readers; if you are wrong, admit the mistake and move on; Don’t write link bait; write about things you enjoy; and put some personality in your writing.
When it comes right down to it, I write for my readers and so should you. Those people may enjoy my style of writing, the topics I choose to write about or the honesty and humor that comes through in my stories.
On Gannett Layoffs
Newspaper publisher Gannett Co. is laying off 700 workers, or 2 percent of its work force, in the latest cutback triggered by a relentless advertising slump.
[…]
Gannett has reduced its work force by 20,000 employees during the past five years through layoffs, attrition and other actions, such as the sale of a Hawaii newspaper. Before the latest cuts, it had 32,600 employees.
Belt tightening helped Gannett boost its earnings by 66 percent last year. The performance resulted in a $1.75 million bonus for Gannett CEO Craig Dubow, a 21 percent increase from $1.45 million in 2009.
Dubow seems like a stand up guy.