Rules for covering Apple

Marketwatch.com media columnist Jon Friedman gives guidance Friday on how Apple out to be covered by business journalists.

Here is an excerpt:

Follow the money

The best measure, as always, with a public company, is to follow the money — that is, the stock price. The Wall Street traders are usually highly reliable indicators of how a company is doing now and what its prospects are — much like the Las Vegas odds makers who handicap the sporting events.

Don’t be blinded by Apple’s light

Meanwhile, don’t assume anything. Just because Apple’s stock surged 70% during Jobs’s last health-related absence, it is no reason to suggest that lightning could strike twice for Apple and its stockholders. Make Apple earn its accolades.

Be skeptical, not cynical

This is really the watchword for journalists. Apple has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to making lofty predictions about its glittering product line. The longer Jobs is forced to stay away, the longer the shadow on new products. When it comes to the second generation of the iPad, for instance, it should be a lead-pipe cinch for success, regardless of whether Jobs is on the scene or not.

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