I don't think it is 'ignorance' ... I think it is simple self interest.
Over the years, after 50,000 off operating system and application
family specific viruses, worms and the like, I have come to the
conclusion that the mainstream IT media cares a tad more for its
advertising dollar than it does for reporting the facts.
They also care more about the possibility of legal repercussions from
a party that has a bottomless pit of resources with respect to
litigation and the like .
We don't have any Katherine Graham's and Washington Post's in
Australia. We don't have media organisations that tell it as it is.
We have a spineless collection of self interested publishers who
generally abrogate their responsibilities to report news, and
invariably editorialise in favour of the status quo and/or their
advertising clients ... even if that status quo or client now and
then has some real and costly deficiencies that can and should be
reported.
To my mind, journalism generally is way past it's hey day ... and not
only IT journalism ... and has lost most of the respect it ever
accrued with the general public. Politicians, lawyers and
journalists. :)
And in case anyone thinks I'm being unreasonable ... amongst other
things I'm a journalist myself.
Regards,
At 1:09 AM +1000 3/8/01, James Morris wrote:
>On Thu, 2 Aug 2001, David Braue wrote:
>
>> The mainstream media are completely unaware of the real problem with
>> Code Red and other viruses, and so rely on sensationalist press releases
>> from antivirus vendors with a real interest in selling more product.
>> This is why mainstream media was running tips on how to avoid Code Red,
>> and why they invariably show talking heads from the vendors when less
>> biased sources would have had something more helpful to say.
>> Unfortunately that's how the news sometimes gets out there, and when it
>> comes to tech many mainstream journos don't have the skills to filter
>> the truth from the marketing.
>>
>
>If The Register can get it right, then why not the deep-pocketed and
>somewhat more highly resourced media organisations?
>
>And since when was ignorance a valid excuse when it comes to journalism,
>regardless of resources?
>
>
>- James
>--
>James Morris
><jmorris@intercode.com.au>
-- ************************ Apathy is a great cause for concern ... but who cares? ************************
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