Trevor Cook raises an interesting point about IT journalism in his Corporate Engagement blog.
While he’s been a bit provocative with his description of the IT media being “low end” he does flag an important issue that Australian IT users should be aware of; that many reviews and articles are barely warmed over press releases.
In fact some technology journalists and publications are notorious for going the next step and just slightly rewriting overseas articles.
When you are reading an article on the latest and greatest IT products keep this in mind. If it appears the writer hasn’t used the product and is merely parroting some media release then you should be careful. Many of the articles have been ripped straight off the wire.
It should be emphasised that this isn’t usually the journalists fault, it’s usually because the publication is under resourced and simply can’t generate original content. Reprinting press releases is an easy and cheap way to pad out content.
Personally, I like publications like Australian Personal Computer that does take the time to properly review products and cast a skeptical eye over the often inflated claims of IT vendors.
When making decisions on buying technology, don’t just rely on what you read in the paper.