Apple coverage and the iPhone scoop

Foster Kamer of the Village Voice interviewed Gawker head Nick Denton about sister site Gizmodo’s scoop regarding the new iPhone left at a California bar, and Denton had choice words for business journalists.

Here is an excerpt:

Absolutely.
I mean: is there a bigger scoop in technology journalism? Any decent journalist ought to be willing to sell their mother for a story like this.

That’s not the case, sadly. Not because they love their mothers, though. This begs the question: Mama Denton or iPhone scoop?
You would, though, wouldn’t you?
My mother’s dead.

Well, my mom’s terrible with the Jewish guilt, so probably, yes.
I used to cover Silicon Valley for the Financial Times. I’d never experienced such control freak publicists. New York corporate communications professionals are angels of transparency by comparison. Apple’s PR people have more power than any others — because they can dole out access to the hottest gadgets on the planets. I don’t blame them for herding the tech reporters; only the tech reporters for going along so uncomplainingly to the slaughter.

Read more here.