I just listened to the conference call in its entirety. If anyone has any doubt about negative bias from the Wall Street Journal in reporting on Apple news, then they should go to:
zdnet.com:80/zdnn/special/audio/apple.ram
and scroll to 38 minutes into the recording, where Fred Mossberg from the Wall Street Journal starts asking questions. I guess he didn't like Fred Anderson defense of the company's current market strategy, nor did he get the answer he wanted when he asked whether Apple was planning to manufacture other digital appliances like network computers or WebTVs, instead of relying on the Macintosh. At 40:36, he can't resist getting on his soapbox:
"With all due respect to Fred, you don't have a solid revenue base. You may have a great product line, and it may be unfair that this is true, but you have a declining revenue base. You have a market share that's heading towards 5%. It's very, very dangerous territory, if you don't mind me saying so."
Many other reporters/analysts asked objective questions on the subject of Apple's marketshare, product line and strategy without stating their own conclusions or opinions, or feeling like they had to take the opportunity to make a speech before the Apple executives.
Also of note, Bruce Francis of CNBC tried twice to get Fred Anderson to admit that there was a triggering event to Amelio's departure, implying that it probably had a connection with the quarterly results to be released next week. Since Anderson could not comment (they are in a quiet period re the quarterly results), Bruce Francis tried a second time later in the conference call, but was given the same company news release quotes by Anderson. Francis, obviously frustrated, stated that he was left with the impression that this news and whatever triggered the departure was furthering the negative spiral of Apple, where loss of confidence leads to loss of sales and further departures, etc.
It's very interesting to be able to hear these reporters revealing their conclusions/opinions before they take them before the general public, couched in what may appear to be objective reporting of the facts.
By the way, I have no problem with the opinions expressed above, just that these guys aren't writing opinion columns. And the WSJ has been the most blatant example of putting the most negative spin possible on any "news" out of Apple.
D. Kuspa |
