How the media covers Apple

As a political blogger I already knew that many times the media doesn't report on stories that we should know for a variety of reasons. As this article in Newsweek points out, The media's coverage of Apple bites. Here's why. it's not just political reporters who engage in a position of bias.

For the past six months Steve Jobs has been looking terribly ill. But only this week did Apple finally acknowledge that Jobs isn't doing well, when the company announced that Jobs would take a leave for six months. Some suggest the company has misled investors; shareholder lawsuits seem likely. But how did the company manage to carry on this charade for so long? The sad fact is they had help from the media.

The worst thing about the coverage of the Steve Jobs health fiasco at Apple is not only that much of the media failed to pursue the story. A lot of us feel uneasy about prying into someone's health. We'd just rather not go there. But in this case the media went beyond just ignoring the story and actually helped Apple tamp down the story, which kept bubbling up, usually on blogs.

Here's an additional interesting comparison:

The fact is, in the eyes of the media, Apple is the corporate equivalent of Barack Obama—a company that can do no wrong. Even in Silicon Valley, where much of the press corps are pretty much glorified cheerleaders (think of all those slobbering cover stories about the Google guys) Apple's kid-gloves treatment stands out. Reporters don't just overlook Apple's faults; they'll actually apologize for them, or rationalize them away. Ever seen reporters clapping and cheering at a press conference? Happens all the time at Apple events.

The problem is of course that few people will point out the truth, and those who do? Have a hard time getting others to see it...