Apple is 'misguided'

The San Jose Mercury News weighs in on against three Mac rumor websites. At the center of Apple's case is the question of whether the writers and publishers of these publications are legally definable as journalists. "Yes, they're still journalists ... The debate is not about who gets bragging rights to ink-stained wretchdom. It is about who is shielded under an important law that allows journalists to keep their sources confidential ... The Web sites -- AppleInsider, PowerPage and ThinkSecret -- have been writing about Apple for some time. The people behind them collect information that is of interest to the public and publish it for the consumption, primarily, of a throng of avid Macintosh fans. In other words, they perform a function that is little different from that of scores of trade publications, or even the business sections of major newspapers. The fact that they publish online and not in print is irrelevant. After all, no one would argue that online publications such as Salon.com, Slate and CNET -- not to mention MercuryNews.com or WashingtonPost.com -- are not journalism."

by MacNN Staff