If Apple does not announce a tablet-like device next week, we seriously need to rethink the integrity of journalism.
Why? Well, I just read through this Wall Street Journal article that outlines specifics of the impending tablet device learned by the authors through “people familiar with the situation,” “people familiar with the matter,” and “other people briefed on the device.” So, what exactly is the ‘situation’ anyway? Well, they certainly aren’t referring to characters on the Jersey Shore, so lets take a look at the credible information the authors of this highly specific work of journalism have gathered. Apparently, this Apple Tablet will be a true Jack of all trades, functioning as an e-reader for books, text-books, magazines, and other written content; a Television (if you sign up for what I can only assume would be an optional subscription fee); a music player (of course); a video gaming system; and finally, a web browser that you can navigate through the use of a virtual keyboard (squashing any rumours that this device might be a touch screen laptop).
So, back to my original statement- if this turns out false next week, then what in the world is going on with the state of journalism today where a highly detailed article can be published by a major national newspaper and use incredibly vague sources? It’s one thing to publish an article like this and give the name of specific employees or officers of the company that were spoken too, or even refer to the position of the source like ‘a member of the marketing team,’ but to just flat out say nothing better than ‘says a source who knows’ is ridiculous and discrediting in my opinion. I know when it comes to a topic which has been so controversial or kept under wraps for so long it’s hard to get people to go on record when they could potentially be putting their job on the line to disclose information they most likely are supposed to keep secret, but the editors that let this go to print have better have received some very reliable backup if they were to put out a story like this. This says so much about the state of our media today- that a hot story can sell for more than the price of one’s integrity, but as long as a profit is turned journalistic accountability dissolves.