Category: Media

News Media by Joe WilcoxSep 16, 201412:33 pm

Should I Thank Jeff Bezos?

Seven years ago next month our family of three left the D.C. area for San Diego, to be close to my wife’s now 92 year-old dad. We miss Washington, and she still reads the Washington Post but complains about monthly story limits placed on non-subscribers. (The newspaper put up a paywall last year.)

About two weeks ago, we both received email from the Post, offering special all-digital access pricing: $29 for a year. That’s for smartphone, tablet, or the web for two accounts. According to the Post’s subscriber site, the regular web plus mobile subscription is $99 year, while Digital Premium, which adds “unlimited access to all tablet + mobile apps”, is $50 more. So, yeah, $29 is helluva deal, and I signed up—not knowing that is a $120 discount.

Apple by Joe WilcoxSep 10, 20148:39 pm

iPod is Classic

In my professional life as a journalist, I only wrote one rumor story for which sourcing was truly sketchy. Generally my rule is this: Write what you know to be true in the moment based on the most reliable—and identified, meaning we directly communicated—sources available. But I didn’t feel confident about my Oct. 17, 2001 iPod story. My source (only one) confirmed that six days later Apple would unveil a “digital music device”, but it wasn’t clear what that meant, something the story reflects.

I reminisce about iPod because it’s gone. CNET, where I worked when writing about the mystery music device, reported the device’s disappearance yesterday. The link for iPod Classic now goes to iPod Touch, and the music player is no longer sold at Apple Store Online—not even refurbished. The extended name, adopted in 2007, is appropriate. The original iPod is a “classic”. It is one of four foundational products released in 2001 that still drive everything Apple in 2014. Music changed the fruit-logo company long before iPhone established the world’s largest tech company.

Blogging by Joe WilcoxSep 9, 20148:34 am

Sam Biddle is Lucky

Link love: Apple PR Insider: ‘You have to be able to control the journalist’ I envy Sam Biddle, who has just about the best job in blogging and journalism. Who else ahead of Apple’s big […]

Apple by Joe WilcoxAug 29, 20147:51 pm

Finally, Some Competent Tech Reporting

Yesterday, I griped about how effectively Apple PR sets the Fourth and Fifth Estates speculating and rumormongering. What coincidence! Today, 9to5Mac published Mark Gurman’s gripping inside look into Apple’s PR strategy. The story, “Seeing Through the Illusion: Understanding Apple’s Mastery of the Media“, is fine example of the kind of news reporting too often missing on the web today. His multi-section report is well-organized, believably-sourced (even where anonymously), and accurate—to which I can attest based on my experience dealing with Apple as a journalist. He also validates many of my ongoing complaints about how bloggers and journalists report about the company.

I am thoroughly impressed by Matt’s report, not because I agree but know it to be true. I have interacted with all the principal PR people that he identifies. He writes about my experience, and that of other long-time tech journalists. More importantly, I like his tone, which even when recounting something many readers will take as negative about PR, is flat. His story is balanced, well-sourced, and believable.

Apple by Joe WilcoxAug 28, 20145:36 pm

Another Apple Media Circus Begins

The Apple media invites are out today, and I am disappointed to see how effectively the company manipulates the Fourth and Fifth Estates and how willing are they to be led. For the record, I got no invite, nor did I expect one.

To the Apple marketing team, I tip my hat in recognition for job well-done. Please enjoy a well-deserved laugh on me. You earned it. The venue choice already has some blogs and news sites a-going.

News Media by Joe WilcoxAug 23, 20147:57 pm

Twitter betrays You

Today, over at BetaNews, my colleague Mark Wilson asks:
“Twitter may be within its rights to block ISIS beheading content, but is it right?” The social service did more—suspending accounts for some users who shared the gruesome video depicting the slaughter of front-line journalist James Foley, who was held in captivity for about two years. Mark writes:

Twitter has a responsibility to allow events to unfold without intervention. The sheer number of people using the site means that it is possible to get a fairly balanced view of what is going on in the world—do a little research and you should be able to find supporters of every side of just about any story or argument. But for this to work, censorship just cannot happen.

I agree but see far darker implications with respect to news reporting.

News Media by Joe WilcoxAug 10, 201412:18 pm

The Difference Between Nixon and Obama News Reporting

The Atlantic offers an astute assessment of Richard Nixon’s media machine and how other presidents adopted or adapted the playbook. The story, one of many during the 40th anniversary year of resignation, is a must-read for journalists, particularly those covering politics.

I am a long-standing critic of the current administration’s aggressive, anti-media tactics. The Nixon and Obama White Houses share in common a general disregard for the Fourth Estate. Interference in the newsgathering process is commonplace and extends beyond the White House.

ebooks by Joe WilcoxAug 9, 201410:30 am

With Whom Should Authors Unite?

That’s the question on my mind since I started self-publishing ebooks about a year ago. Falling ebook prices and rising number of cheap reads—an increasing number of them serials built around single characters—offer readers bountiful choices. What’s good for consumers may not be best for producers, though. If 99 cents is the value of all books, who can make a living writing them? The answer to that question makes Amazon the savior of publishing or the great Satan destroying it.

I write about this today because overnight Amazon sent long email “Important Kindle request” announcing Readers United. But the letter didn’t come to me as a reader but as an author, from Kindle Direct Publishing. Amazon and publisher Hachette are engaged in a dispute that, long-term, could affect future ebook pricing. Hachette Authors United seeks resolution from Amazon, which calls on readers—and writers—to respond in kind.

ebooks by Joe WilcoxAug 7, 20147:30 pm

Take ‘My Blood’, and If It Satisfies…

So you may know that I’m about half-way through a flailing crowd-funding campaign to raise seed money for my first fiction book. Here’s the campaign page But don’t go there. Go here instead. I started the campaign by offering a free, condensed preview of the book, My Blood. Read it. If you enjoy the 8,000-word teaser, and want to read the book, go to the campaign page and contribute. The more mullah I raise, the faster the book arrives.

If you don’t think much of the preview—or it’s just not your kind of story—contribute another way. Tell me what’s wrong or what you would rather read instead. I mean: that you would pay for.

Music by Joe WilcoxAug 7, 20149:52 am

I Gave up TV for This

On Tuesday we sold our TV, streaming boxes (Roku 3 and Apple TV), and Blu-ray player to a couple of law students (he wants to prosecute criminals and she protect kids). They don’t have cable TV service, just Internet, so the setup is just ideal.

Yesterday I went from being a Craigslist seller to a buyer, using the Tellie bounty to buy a Korg Concert 4000. I don’t play but will learn (this time). We once owned the Korg SP-250, a much newer and more sophisticated model, to a missionary family. A daughter died in Indonesia, and they were returning after nearly two years stateside.

News Media by Joe WilcoxAug 6, 201411:11 am

WTF is the Right Domain Question

I must thank Todd Bishop, whose tweet about a GeekWire story alerted me to the then forthcoming .wtf domain extension, which is now available. Generally, I think these dot-com wannabes are just plain stupid, but someone wants them—or ICANN decision-makers believe so. I ignored every domain registrar solicitation to grab one until .wtf.

My first concern is brand protection. I’ve pissed off more than a few fanboys over the years and I worried about someone snagging joewilcox.wtf and using that as a platform against me. You should worry, too, if you have any kind of brand to protect. “What the fuck?” is right. If your name is your brand, grab .wtf before someone else does.

Living by Joe WilcoxAug 5, 20143:12 pm

First We Cut the Cord, Now We Sell the Tellie

I got this knot of tension today for the stupidest reason,. My wife and I decided to take cord-cutting to another step. We’re selling our 42-inch Sony TV, Blu-ray player, Apple TV, Roku 3, HDMI-switcher, and stand. We’ll keep Amazon Fire TV and Google Chromecast, for future time when we might buy a 1080p PC monitor for streaming.

I posted to Craigslist and several buyers responded. One of them comes by in about three hours. OMG! There’s no TV tonight!