Crunch time

TechCrunch (TC), being a technology blog, should be stand-alone and independent website.

Gadget reviews are usually deal sealers or breakers for consumers.

These consumers want the best out of their money, so what do they do? They read and research about the item before purchasing it, carefully scrutinizing each details, pros and cons.

TechCrunch has been investing with tech companies, and yes, those are the same companies that they cover and write about.

There are three things that one should take note in the case of TechCrunch

·         Independency

·         Affiliation

·         Bias

As a result of these investments, TC has been writing articles that favors the companies which they’re affiliated to. They couldn’t maintain independence from these companies so they use TC as a tool in promoting the products of those companies.

Yes it has been done by TC, they have been writing articles favorable to their partners. It was observed and criticized by other journalists.

TC’s bias is obvious; it is towards their business partners. If an article would hurt one of their partners, they would probably think twice or even thrice before publishing it. On the other hand, there will be no reservations when it comes to praises and good articles.

How can you openly criticize a certain item or product that belongs to your business partners?

TC will just make misleading stories and reviews.

Yes money is important to run or to maintain something like TechCrunch.

I personally like and consult technology websites and I also read their reviews on specific items.

But in the case of TC, why invest with tech companies which you review or write a story about?

It reminds me of how a giant network delivers a story about an electric company.

Get your facts straight!

The last movie I saw which is related to Journalism is The Paper. It tackles different issues and real life situations in the world of print media.

A better movie is the Shattered Glass. It is about a journalist, Stephen Glass, who fabricated several stories which were published in the well known magazine The New Republic.

One of the duties of a journalist is to inform the people about the truth. It is deeply wrong to invent or fabricate a story and make it look like a factual, true story. There should always be a clear borderline between journalism and other forms of writing like that of fictional stories. These two cannot be mixed up.

Journalism is different from other professions. It is said to be difficult and more of a sacrifice or duty rather than just a work that pays. It is not the profession for someone who is salary oriented.

Stephen Glass wanted to make a name. He was indeed a talented person, but he used his gifts in a wrong way by cooking different stories that made him look good. (Well at least for a while)  

A journalist should not take advantage of his knowledge in writing stories and his privilege to be published. 

On the other hand, the movie also showed how fabricated stories found its way on a seasoned and trusted news agency. It showed that even though there are strict processes before a story is published, still there is a huge hole in those processes. Fact verification should not be taken for granted by any news agencies so that fabricated stories would not make its way through.

Today’s online journalism is also flawed. Different news websites want to publish breaking news before anyone else. As a result, some of the facts are not straight or verified.

I also remember some cooked stories that were published online, one of which was the shutting down of Facebook. In the story, Mark Zuckerberg was quoted, making some people believe that Facebook is really shutting down when indeed it is not.

The movie Shattered Glass is a classic and a must see especially by aspiring journalists.