The carefully managed buzz about Apple's new product

New York Times media columnist David Carr writes Monday about how Apple manages to cultivate coverage about major announcements without really saying anything to the press.

Carr writes, “And the most magical part? Even as the media and technology worlds have anticipated this announcement for months, Apple has said not word one about The Device. Reporting on the announcement has become crowdsourced, with thousands of tech and media journalists scrambling for the latest wisp and building on the reporting of others.

“However miraculous the thingamajig turns out to be — all rumors point to some kind of tabletlike device — it can’t be more remarkable than the control that Apple and Mr. Jobs have over their audience.

“‘The reason that we all write about Apple is because we are, of course, interested, but also because everybody likes to read about Apple,’ said Matt Buchanan, a contributing editor at the technology site Gizmodo. ‘Even if they hate Apple.’

“As an organization, Apple is more disciplined in managing message than even the Obama campaign, with a culture — some would say cult — of corporate omertà. The only reason we know that the tablet is for real, that it is probably a 10-inch touch device that will cost $600 to $1,000, is that at some point, Apple had to reach out to partners who do not share its sense of pristine hygiene around information.”

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