An open letter to David Pogue

David,

I’d like to begin this letter by saying that I didn’t write my post yesterday to slip in some snarky, backhanded attempt to “get you”.  You have been a phenomenal inspiration to budding tech journalists for years, myself included.

It is not my intention to detract from your past work, merely to point out the inconsistencies that appear in your ‘ professional history’, if you will.  Some may construe your remarks on This Week in Tech as an attempt to distance yourself from the hallows of professional journalism.  Regardless of whether you felt your words were taken out of context, what remains is the fact of how people perceive those words and the meaning it has to them.  I certainly took it based on the words you used:

“The thing that I objected to the most about John Dvorak’s tearing me down on Twitter is that, ‘You’re a disgrace to journalism…’ Since when have I ever billed myself as a journalist? I am not a reporter, I’ve never been to journalism school.”

You work for the New York Times and you write a regular column.  You conduct interviews with well-known public figures in the tech industry, you conduct product reviews on items which most journalists cannot.  You are a journalist.

I too have never been to journalism school.  I started writing news stories when I was in grade school, writing a better paper that sold 2 copies to 1 over the official school newspaper.  I have never taken a journalism course in my entire life, either.  The closest I came was a pop culture writing class in college.  My love for technology mixed with my early news-writing ambitions, thanks to inspiration from Leo Laporte and I now do what I do as my own business.

My point is that it doesn’t take schooling to be a journalist.  It takes a passion for writing, a sense of direction, an ability to look at things from multiple sides and a dedication to ethical standards that makes one able to write true journalism.

“I like my interview subjects to like me.”

There is nothing wrong with this to the extent that your subject doesn’t feel like they’re in hostile territory while you’re asking them questions.  However, its a completely different set of affairs when you take the approach of essentially offering your column as a public relations piece to Apple and Mr. Jobs.  Usually, opinions are based in fact to a certain degree and it is the interpretation of facts mixed with personal beliefs that morph themselves into those opinions.  Downright pandering to get whatever edge on a story you think you might obtain is still just that – pandering.  And it’s not a quality something I like writers in my field to possess.

In retrospect, it may have been a bit abrupt to include you with the likes of Mike Arrington.  However, I would be remiss in my ethical duty to ignore the inconsistencies of your reporting.  Am I supposed to turn a blind eye to the fact that you write Missing Manuals for just about every Apple and Mac related product and not construe this as a HUGE conflict of interest.  Do you think readers would be as anticipatory of your upcoming Missing Manual for Snow Leopard if you gave it a poor review?  Of course not.  Regardless of whether it influenced your article, it gives a perceived notion of bias, and this is something you should avoid at all costs.

In closing, I would like to reiterate that I am not ‘out to get you’.  I am simply posing a contrary viewpoint to your comment left on my post yesterday, now that I have had more time to amply digest your words.  I have nothing but respect for those in your position, writing articles for the nation to read.

I just want you to try harder.

Respectfully Yours,

John

What’s missing from modern tech journalism?

The short answer: ethics.

It seems like everywhere I turn lately, so-called journalists in the mainstream media (MSM) are sacrificing their professional integrity for the sake of gaining (or just keeping) their readership in the age of electronic media.

Why?

I don’t really know, but I’m writing this article, mostly to rant, but party to hypothesize about why mainstream media is so screwed up.

Before we can understand how ethics applies in professional journalism, first we must define the term.  Ethics is defined as the rules recognized to be a code of conduct to a particular set of actions.  We we deem as right or wrong has a lot to do with our religious and ethnic backgrounds.  (That being said, it is important to note that this article should not be construed as a commentary on any particular religion or ethnicity.)

Ethics is also what’s missing from mainstream media in the 21st century.  Granted, I have not had education in journalism, but does anyone really need that to be a true journalist?   No.  What makes a good writer is unwavering ethics, integrity and a sense of purpose without ego.  You also have to be able to relate the news of the day in a way that will resonate with the public without distorting the facts.

There is a code of conduct published by the Society of Professional Journalists to which media staff should adhere.  However, even SPJ states that the code of conduct by nature is not legally enforceable under the First Amendment and it is the duty of those who call themselves professional journalists to abide by this code.  Some journalists, such as Kara Swisher, have taken the liberty of publishing their own set of ethical guidelines to which they hold themselves accountable.  I have also published my ethical code for my readers.

All this is pure rhetoric, of course.  It’s one thing to ‘talk the talk’ when it comes to ethics and integrity, but what happens when it’s time to ‘walk the walk’?  Some hold true to their word and some falter.  Here are my examples:

• Kara Swisher: Way back in 1997, when the Internet was just starting to get hot and technology was on it’s way to becoming mainstream in our homes, Ms. Swisher was starting to cover digital news for the San Francisco bureau of the Wall Street Journal with her column called BoomTown.  With a classic education in journalism – namely as a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism – she continues to evangelize technology to millions of readers every day with her column on All Things Digital.  She makes my top spot due to her meeting all the qualities I’ve previously mentioned in this article.
• Leo Laporte: Leo is a long-time technology journalist who is the owner of TWiT and it’s family of netcasts.  For over 30 years, Leo has been instrumental in helping anyone who wanted to learn about technology to know more (including yours truly).  Getting his start early with ZDTV and later with TechTV, Leo is a consummate professional, although some accuse him of being too much of an Apple fanboy.  He strikes a perfect balance between the eons-old PC vs. Mac battle and manages to branch into other genres of technology from the open source movement to the legalities of technology.

Of course I could go on forever about the talented journalists in our field of work, but I would be remiss of I didn’t touch on those that choose to pervert our genre for their own gain.

• David Pogue: In 2009, Pogue – technology columnist for the New York Times – after coming under fire from various industry players, stated that he is “not a journalist” and has never been to journalism school and therefore shouldn’t be held to the same standards as his industry peers..  However, his main source of employment, by nature, makes him a journalist.  As I have previously pointed out, education in the field of journalism does not a requirement make.  Pogue only backtracked to excuse conflicts of interest, such as his Missing Manual books and failing to give full disclosure when doing product reviews.
• Mike Arrington: As the fearful leader of TechCrunch, Arrington is known by many as an Internet troll and may be best known in geek communities for calling out Leo Laporte on the June 6, 2009 episode of The Gillmor Gang show for being predisposed to writing a biased review because Laporte received a Palm Pre review unit at no cost.  This was a complete lack of integrity on Arrington’s part because the accusation was completely unfounded.  While it should be noted that Arrington is not technically a journalist, TechCrunch is a tech-based news blog and I feel he should be held to the same standards as any other journalist, or the lines between tech blogger and tech journalist would be forever blurred in the public’s eyes.  He has also, in the past, used his influential site to invoke politics where it does not belong.

All of this being said, a true journalist avoids conflicts of interest, regardless of the muse.  He must place himself under public scrutiny and surpass the trial by fire.  He must refrain from bending the facts to arrive at a certain view point – to remain unbiased in his reporting.  He must also hold his peers accountable for their actions and to the code of conduct for professional journalists.  For a complete outline of the standards, I suggest you read the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Conduct.

It is a disgraceful fact that there are those that blur the lines.  If morally-bound tech journalists (or any journalist, for that matter) wish to preserve their profession for years to come, and to have the public trust their word, they will call out the wolves hiding in sheep’s clothing and expose them for the frauds they are. 

Anything less is placation and will ultimately lead to the downfall of technology reporting.

Note: I originally started this article to write about my disgust with mainstream media in general, however, the publication of the Valleywag article on David Pogue’s inappropriate behavior lead me to tailor this article to my specific industry.

Twitter’s Terms of Service Allows Ads? Oh My!

According to the Twitter Terms of Service, just updated this week:

“The Services may include advertisements, which may be targeted to the Content or information on the Services, queries made through the Services, or other information. The types and extent of advertising by Twitter on the Services are subject to change. In consideration for Twitter granting you access to and use of the Services, you agree that Twitter and its third party providers and partners may place such advertising on the Services or in connection with the display of Content or information from the Services whether submitted by you or others.”

What? Allowing ads on the service? Twitter, say it isn’t so. This won’t really affect those that use third-party clients, such as TweetDeck, Seesmic and DestroyTwitter (unless the powers that be decide to inject them into your tweet stream, which will surely kill the service). But anyone visiting the webpage to post (like I do from time to time) will surely be bombarded with advertising.

A la Facebook?

I hope not.

IE 6? Really?

Yes.  You read that correctly.  Where I work, Internet Explorer (or Exploder, as I prefer) version 6 is the only approved version of web browser we’re allowed to use.

Only approved browser.

WHAT?!

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Looking for a few good writers

Do you love to build your own PC’s? Do you love to rock your Xbox 360 or Playstation 3? Are you a freak about security on your network? Then we’re looking to meet you!

On November 1, Indianapolis is getting it’s very own website for the tech community – or as we affectionately call ourselves: geeks. If you love technology and can write about it (well), then we would like you to apply for the positions we have available, listed below.

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