The Apple cult

The coverage of the release of the iPad fits the definition of “over the top” for most newsrooms in America. It also confirms a tenet of the media — the bias in the media isn’t what politics a reporter/editor favor, it’s found in what interests a reporter/editor in the first place. Show me breathless coverage of the release of the iPad, and I’ll show you a reporter/editor who (a) wants one (b) is an Apple disciple to begin with and (c) needs to put down the computer and go for a walk in the woods.

In other words, they’re members of a cult covering the cult.

Or, as listener Samantha Kennedy of St. Paul puts it:

Why on earth are you making such a big deal of this? Apple has not invented anything. They have not discovered anything? They have simply done what many companies do, which is update, remodel, etc., something or even come out with something “new” in line with existing technology. I feel like they are paying for this “news” coverage. Who cares???

For the record, Apple is not paying for the news coverage. Why would they have to when they get it for free?

Walt Mossberg and David Carr have a different view, although hearing the word “intimate” and “iPad” in the same sentence is a little disconcerting.