I'm not a reporter, but...

This is just the worst kind of journalism. Now I'm not a fan of the Daily Beast. It's like the National Enquirer on steroids with a flimsy mask of respectability. And now that they own Newsweek, that too has become kind of a second-hand outlet for them. Though admittedly I did cancel my subscription when my copy with the name Karl Rove on the cover arrived, feeling more like a weekly ad circular than a news magazine. For some reason I take news more seriously when it's presented as news, and not the latest deal for your septic tank.

Nuf about that. Back to the shoddy journalism. An article about Google's alleged plan to introduce Cloud Music. And how it will change our world.
Here it is. What's wrong with this article?

Cloud Music is already here. At Amazon, complete with all the tools and infrastructure. It's not a "head in the clouds" kind of idea. Pardon the pun. Yet this author is writing about how IF Google introduces this it will change everything. Problem is, it's already changed. Last month. Amazon Cloud is here. Publishing an article about what might be when it is already? Provider name aside, the point of the article is moot once you notice that the writer doesn't acknowledge Amazon. Now I like Google. I use their cloud service for my document sharing and other sundries. I use an Android. I use Google Chrome. But for music? I already signed up for the Cloud, since some of my music is downloaded on the Android through Amazon already.

What's worse, Sony's service debuts this week. True, it's a bit more limiting than Amazon, and doesn't really serve all devices. But it's still in the Cloud.

Time for analogies. Publishing an article about the possibility of civil war in February of 1861. Publishing an article on the potential for space travel in May of 1961. Predicting the downfall of the Soviet system in December of 1989. Theorizing about the impact of Cell Phones in 1980. Betting on the outcome of a football game after running over the quarterback's foot.

If you want to write about something that may happen, make sure it hasn't happened. And certainly, if you are a Google fan, you know that finding information in realtime is virtually a click away. So before you hit that submit button, just do us all a favor and do your due diligence.


Now, to be fair to Google, Amazon's system is clunky. It takes forever to upload your existing library of music. It's like waiting for the ketchup from a brand new bottle. You tap. You shake. Eventually you toss it against the wall. And then remember you're in a restaurant and the bottle is glass not plastic.

But that's beside the point. Or maybe it is the point. This article would have been of interest had the writer focused on why Google will introduce a better Music Cloud. How it may change the face of music downloading because it will have a better way to build your library. Maybe it will. Don't know. Or how they will address those pesky legal issues being raised. 

But anytime a journalist uses a crystal ball that seems a bit more like a mirror, someone needs to call them out on that. Today, because topics like the federal budget are making me nauseous, I'm in the mood to do just that. 

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 13, 2011 at 6:52 AM

    You have to find a good journalist who knows how to write good articles.
    I read La Nacion because I'm in Buenos Aires apartments and that's the local paper I like the most.

    ReplyDelete

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