December 23/December 30, 1996
What happens when the news deliverers become the news makers?
By Bob O'Donnell
There's trouble brewing in the world of electronic information and I don't think it's
good news. The organizations that deliver news via the Internet are increasingly
generating their own stories -- that is, they're delivering an increasing amount of
information about themselves.
Now, there's a long journalistic tradition of reporting major internal developments
within any publishing organization, but stories of this sort are done very infrequently
and with obvious disclaimers and references to internal sources. But on the Internet and
other online media the old rules are giving way to new ones that ignore -- or conveniently
sidestep -- important issues of journalistic integrity.
Companies involved with news gathering and delivery are reporting on every detail or
development in their company's plans. It's almost as if they're using their services as a
house organ to deliver all their own news unfiltered, as well as a selected set of
breaking news from other sources.
To be fair, many of the companies involved with creating news delivery products are
newsworthy these days because this subject is a hot topic. But I think several companies
have gone too far. For example, I receive a copy of Individual
Inc.'s HeadsUp daily e-mail news service (InfoWorld licenses its copy to
Individual for redistribution), and very frequently stories about Individual appear at the
top of the report. This shouldn't be too surprising because we've asked to receive news in
the information services category, which is clearly Individual's market. But it is
surprising that without fail its news appears at the top of the listing.
It seems clear that Individual is taking advantage of its position as an important
company and news service provider. Even worse, in my opinion, is that the stories on
Individual are not handled differently, but instead given similar treatment to all the
other breaking news stories, including those with independent reporting and analysis. The
implication, of course, is that any news about Individual is as important (or more
important, given its location at the top of the list) than any other breaking news.
At the same time, online news organizations are reporting on one another with
disturbing vigor. Traditional newspapers rarely report on each other, yet online news
providers seem to jump on any potentially negative story about a competitor. cnet's News.Com, for example, recently reported on a number of
changes at its competitor, HotWired, including that
it had laid off three people -- three people! The fact that the supposed layoffs couldn't
be confirmed simply adds to the
story's dubious value. (I realize that my discussion of this issue may seem
hypocritical, but the important difference is that I'm doing so in a column, where
opinions are supposed to color the discussion, and not in a news story.)
Finally, the whole tangled mess of relationships between the news creators and the
companies they report on continues to deteriorate. Many people were concerned when Microsoft, unquestionably one of the most reported on
companies in the world, announced a joint news venture with NBC.
So far, MSNBC has avoided the kind of bias that many
feared, but commercial bias is an issue that will require continuous monitoring.
InfoWorld and InfoWorld Electric aren't entirely free of this concern
either. Our parent company, IDG, has made investments in
several Internet-related companies, including Netscape
and Excite, through a separate company division that
handles investments. Our two primary competitors, Softbank (owners of Ziff-Davis) and CMP,
have also made significant investments in companies that their publishing subsidiaries
cover. Softbank, in particular, has been on a multimillion-dollar buying spree over the
last couple of years.
So, what does all of this mean? Simply that the previously clear line separating the
news makers and the news delivers has been crossed and is likely never to return. That
doesn't mean that all the news you're receiving in various electronic forms is suspect;
many news organizations involved in electronic news delivery have long-standing records of
journalistic integrity that will not be compromised by this new world. Companies and
services without those traditions, however, will need to prove their trustworthiness to
readers. As the old adage goes, when it comes to electronic news, consider the source.
In honor of the Christmas holidays, InfoWorld Electric will not be updated on
Monday, Dec. 30 (although the site will remain live throughout the holidays). Look for a
new batch of columns, forums, product reviews, and more on Monday, Jan. 6, 1997. In the
meantime, I hope you and your families enjoy a blessed Christmas. See you next year!
©
Copyright 1996, by InfoWorld Publishing Corp., a
subsidiary of IDG Communications, Inc. Reprinted from InfoWorld,
155 Bovet Road, San Mateo, CA 94402. Further reproduction is prohibited.
