In a previous Red Meat Friday post, Irreal pondered whether politicians or journalists are the least respectable profession. It’s still an open question and while most people would probably declare politicians the winners, John Gruber has a post that provides compelling evidence for journalists.
Gruber’s post is a scathing takedown of a Wall Street Journal article entitled Inside Apple’s Spectacular Failure to Build a Key Part for Its New iPhones. The article is pay walled but Gruber’s post tells you all you need to know.
The article is about Apple’s “failure” to have their own 5G modem for the iPhone ready in time for the iPhone 15. The article claims Apple was still testing their modem just months ago. Anyone who knows anything about the Apple manufacturing pipeline, knows that that’s nonsense. Hardware for Apple products are set years in advance, not developed at the last minute.
The journal article has plenty of other nonsense, too. Read Gruber’s post for the details but there are a couple observations that even Irreal can make. First, this is the Wall Street Journal, not some sketchy NetZine. The Journal is arguably the best and most reliable paper in the country and there’s really no excuse for shoddy work like this.
Second, Gruber makes the case that the article is not just wrong but deliberately so. It is, he says, an obvious hit piece with conclusions so silly that no sensible person would accept them.
You all know that Irreal is an Apple shop but this is not fanboyism. It’s not even about Apple. It’s about a serious paper abandoning journalistic excellence and perhaps even ethics. Politicians should be worried: they have some serious competition.