Two days after Apple released the exciting Macbook Air to its current line of laptops, the New York Times was one of the first to pick up this press release and wrote an article to introduce the new innovations to the world of computers (http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/01/15mbair.html).
The editorial begins talking about Mac Convention, Apple’s annual release of its exciting new products and updates for the year. Though four major products were unveiled and talked about briefly, it seems like the majority of the attention is stolen by their last creation, the thinnest laptop on the market: the Macbook Air.
The editorial essentially rehashes Apple’s press release of the Macbook in using lots of the specifications and touches on its worthy advancements. As always, the NY Times gives it its personal quirky touches and helps even the less savvy computer readers the ability to relate and still understand the significances Macbook Air is bringing to the table of electronics.
The article provides a basic outline of the pros and con’s the editor suggests are noteworthy. It starts with the greatest feature consumers might find attractive and then follows with what the writer feels is its major drawback. It’s challenging to detect bias in this article based on this tactic. Like a good news writer, he presents things fairly and addresses the questions that most people are probably wondering giving a very neutral position. However, the ending gives you the sum of his findings stating that if you’re into the latest and greatest, and willing to pay for it, its well worth the money.
Those who know anything about Apple know that they’ve got a loyal band of followers. Some are so dramatic that they’ve actually created a magazine to cover all of Apple’s bases. I picked up this article because it was probably the first official article written on the Macbook Air. This was literally written hours after Apple released its official press release. MacWorld is a magazine that offers an online version and a monthly printed copy. This article was taken offline.
To say that this article holds bias would be putting it mildly. It’s clear that this article was written for computer junkies but still manages to maintain simple, layman terms for the rest of us. Within the first lines, the article gives us its best features, the price of the different models and the earliest date in which you can order it. Towards the end, MacWorld also covers something that doesn’t seem related to the rest of the article. Though it was briefly mentioned in the NY Times article, MacWorld praises Apple on its desire to “go green,” especially with this product.
It’s clear that this piece lies squarely on the Apple release because the only information they have is exactly what Apple has told them. Obviously the prejudice is clear in that nothing negative is even remotely touched on. You can sense that the article was written by excited enthusiasts that echo kids on Christmas Eve. They don’t have anything new to offer but just want to talk about how thrilling everything is while making assumptions and predictions. You can see a “sign of the times” based on this websites openness because the site allows people coming across the article to discuss and give comments.
MY ANALYSIS:
It’s clear that I picked a topic or company that I enjoy. Initially I went to Apple’s website and connected myself to their PR department in their search engine. It was nice that Apple had easily accessible press releases that were detailed yet concise, and well laid out. It was especially nice that toward the end of the press release, Apple gave two names to contact for questions or more information.
After finding the release, I wanted to find stories from forums that contrasted themselves and gave a wide look at how a release is used. The New York Times was one of my first picks based on its professionalism and higher level of journalistic standards. Though I wasn’t sure whether or not NY Times had ever picked up the story, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had. It’s apparent that they used many excerpts from Apple’s press release but didn’t have to weigh too heavily on it. It’s always impressive when a writer can take tedious and sometimes rather mind-numbing computer facts and spin it into an informative, entertaining piece. No direct quotes were given or used.
The second article I discovered was actually obtained using the search engine Google. The article found in MacWorld failed to bring new information from Apple’s release but offered a concise alternative to the rather lengthy breakdown of the new product.
I would imagine that when it comes to new technology you have to use the company’s press release heavily. It’s something that has exact dimensions and has a limited consensus. Both used the release as a “target” but truly became divided when it came to actually providing the information in a way that people would want to read it.
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