Journalistic integrity wins out at PC World

David Joachim of The New York Times takes a look at the return of PC World editor Harry McCracken last week after he had resigned when an article critical of Apple was pulled by his boss.

Joachim wrote, “PC World, a monthly magazine with a companion Web site that mixes technology news with product reviews, has a reputation for smart and sometimes hard-hitting articles that often offend big tech companies.

“In recent years, it has criticized several of its advertisers for what it described were bait-and-switch tactics and price gouging. Its survey of the reliability of manufacturers has given poor ratings to several of the magazine’s advertisers. It even has a regular column chronicling the defects in Microsoft software.

“Mr. McCracken says that several advertisers have withdrawn ads over the years, after their products were negatively reviewed in the magazine, most recently last month. (He would not name the advertiser.)

“‘PC World is surprisingly reportorial, especially against some other technology magazines that don’t invest a lot’ in articles that might provoke companies, said Sam Whitmore, an analyst in Beverly, Mass., who tracks technology publishers.”

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