Interesting article on Cult of Mac.

[xapo99]

As some of the comments pointed out...this would have been more at home on Cult of Android...

http://www.cultofmac.com/255618/how-apples-blacklist-manipulates-the-press/

From what I can decipher from this...if you are a journo, tech writer, notable blogger etc, and you say anything detrimental about Apple or its products, then they 'blacklist you'.

I don't have an opinion on this or Apple products, but seems like ' no wonder' you never see any notable sites writing anything but praise, because if you do, you won't get any shiny to play with or review, less site traffic, less ad revenue etc....I guess that includes this site...right ?

 

[boomhower]

Been rumored for a while and I don't necessarily see it as a bad thing. Leo Laport's been on it for years. (think he streamed an even if memory serves) Just because they don't send you free product to evaluate or a gift basket for Christmas to me just makes you a more fairly minded reviewer. The ones that get the free product are the ones I'd look more ?carefully at their reviews. Are they being honest or do they want to continue to get free stuff?

 

[SirStev0]

I love mac and cheese. I don't know why you guys are so quick to label people a cult for just liking delicious things.

 

[Hugo Drax]

And no crypto locker included with Apple.

 

[Scotteq]

OooooommmmmCheddarrrr

OooooommmmmGruyererrrrr

OooooommmmmBrieeeeeeee

 

[Rakehellion]

As some of the comments pointed out...this would have been more at home on Cult of Android...

http://www.cultofmac.com/255618/how-apples-blacklist-manipulates-the-press/

From what I can decipher from this...if you are a journo, tech writer, notable blogger etc, and you say anything detrimental about Apple or its products, then they 'blacklist you'.

I don't have an opinion on this or Apple products, but seems like ' no wonder' you never see any notable sites writing anything but praise, because if you do, you won't get any shiny to play with or review, less site traffic, less ad revenue etc....I guess that includes this site...right ?

He starts by saying "I've been on this blacklist for ten years" and then he goes on for several paragraphs comparing it to the anti-Communism blacklist of the 1940's. I stopped reading there.

 

[Lonyo]

He starts by saying "I've been on this blacklist for ten years" and then he goes on for several paragraphs comparing it to the anti-Communism blacklist of the 1940's. I stopped reading there.

Then you didn't get to the one where he says:

It needs to be said, of course, that comparisons between, say, McCarthyism and Apple’s PR strategy are absurd. I make them here only to illustrate the history and purpose of blacklisting.

Apple’s ability to control public opinion is almost zero compared with political examples. And the stakes in Apple’s case are trivial compared with the plight of other blacklist victims.

?

 

[Rakehellion]

Then you didn't get to the one where he says:

?

Like I said, I stopped reading. And saying "oh, jk" at the end doesn't make it any less absurd. He sounds like a psycho.

I don't know what scathing review of an Apple product he wrote, but I'm sure it was just as insane as this article where he's whining about not getting free iPhones anymore.

 

[el-Capitan]

He starts by saying "I've been on this blacklist for ten years" and then he goes on for several paragraphs comparing it to the anti-Communism blacklist of the 1940's. I stopped reading there.

It is an arc - agreed. He might as well have dug out book burning in Nazi-Germany.

I do, however, think that he has a point I too think it is a poor business practice from Apple.

 

[Rakehellion]

I don't know if what he's saying is true, but I compare this to a kid who gets mad at his parents because they didn't get him the new iPad for Christmas. Just buy one at the damned store like everyone else. You aren't entitled to anything just because you're with the press.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

This is news? I thought everybody did this, particularly game publishers?

 

[DesiPower]

They need to prevent people from realizing/knowing the truth. They spend a fortune on their propaganda machinery, it only makes sense to impose the harshest punishment to those to dare speak against them. - Yes, I am talking about Apple, not Kremlin, although they are not far apart, Apple and all CA hippie organizations including Hollywood believe in a utopian society where govt controls everything, so it basically falls within their system of belief, they don't think they are doing anything wrong.

 

[DesiPower]

This is news? I thought everybody did this, particularly game publishers?

lol, I so agree, last year both BF3 and CoD got great reviews... both were disgrace to the gaming community.

 

[Puppies04]

"Ultimately, it's not that big of a deal."

He nailed it right there, the rest of the article is filler.

 

[Kaido]

Holy wall of text, Batman. They need some pictures of journalists at event every few paragraphs or something haha.

So basically, a multi-billion-dollar company is doing careful marketing to maintain their image? Got it

 

[Kaido]

I don't know if what he's saying is true, but I compare this to a kid who gets mad at his parents because they didn't get him the new iPad for Christmas. Just buy one at the damned store like everyone else. You aren't entitled to anything just because you're with the press.

I love how Steve Jobs put it when Gizmodo got banned from WWDC:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2364707,00.asp

"When this whole thing with Gizmodo happened, I got a lot of advice from people that said you've got to just let it slide. You shouldn't go after a journalist because they bought stolen property and tried to extort you," Jobs said. "And I thought deeply about this, and I concluded the worst thing that could happen is if we change our core values and let it slide. I can't do that. I'd rather quit."

Buuuuuuuurn

 

[KeithP]

It was a pure link bait type article, that being said, since the anti-Apple brigade won't actually read it before they make comments, I post this here in the hopes some will educated themselves before they say stupid uninformed things.

...The truth is that Apple is highly secretive anyway.

The difference between what a “whitelisted” and a “blacklisted” person learns is slight. Those of us on the “blacklist” can read what the “whitelisted” people write. Sure, we don’t get early review units or exclusive quotes from executives. We don’t get to boost our access cred with post-announcement product area selfies. But eventually everybody has the same information.

You should also know that most “whitelisted” journalists aren’t unethical or compromised. Most got there because they were genuinely pro-Apple in their coverage — or, at least, never had occasion to harshly criticize — not because of strategic lying or self-censorship.
One journalist last year claimed that Apple’s “blacklist” “includes any media outlet that posts anything even remotely negative or heaven help you, a rumor.” But this is simply not true. Many who criticize some apple products but praise others are not placed on the list, as long as they avoid the hot-button topics (human rights, environment, company people or culture). I personally know very fair journalists who criticize Apple or who are publicly open-minded about the costs and benefits of Apple vs Android phones, for example, and who are still invited to their events.

Also: The existence of Apple’s “blacklist” should not add to your skepticism about media and reporting. It should merely give you a better understanding about Apple and about what you’re reading. The technology press is far more independent and ethical than people generally give them credit for. Yes, Apple has a “blacklist.” And, yes, you should know about it so you can be a better-informed media “consumer” and consumer electronics customer.

Ultimately, it’s not that big of a deal. In fact, most companies maintain some elements of a blacklist.

Most blogs these days are nothing more than cheerleaders for whatever companies are important to the industry/market they are covering. Most traditional journalists haven't been credible on any subject for years.

Take AT and cell the cell phone benchmark optimization issue. What they should have done is simply told all involved companies that they will no longer publish benchmarks of their products in reviews until the company apologizes for what they did and promises never to do it again.

Instead we were treated to a long-winded explanation trying to convince us it wasn't a big deal and it doesn't really matter anyway.

This is basically a non-article pointing out Apple does what most other companies do.

-KeithP

 

[bearxor]

Yeah, there's no real news here, and most organizations do this.

If you send your products to someone to review and they're negative towards them, wouldn't you stop sending your products there?

 

[Lonyo]

lol, I so agree, last year both BF3 and CoD got great reviews... both were disgrace to the gaming community.

There was no full Battlefield release last year... only expansion packs (which existed in the 90s as well)

 

[DesiPower]

There was no full Battlefield release last year... only expansion packs (which existed in the 90s as well)

OK, it was 2011, but still the game sucked and reviews were great