FARK.com: (7557905) Remember when CBS told CNET what to cover and not cover? Turns out that's company policy going forward

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		Remember when CBS told CNET what to cover and not cover? Turns out that's company policy going forward (boingboing.net)		41
		More: Asinine, CBS, CNET, Columbia Journalism Review, technical writers, Jim Romenesko

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3971 clicks; posted to Geek » on 26 Jan 2013 at 2:07 PM | Favorite | share:

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BumpInTheNight		2013-01-26 11:27:47 AM

CNET is the new Engadget: Bought & sold by their corporate masters, they only exist to sell you crap now.

Honest Bender		2013-01-26 11:32:01 AM

Well, I guess they can just go ahead and stop calling themselves a news outlet, then. Just an editorial soap box. I guess I should be upset or something. But, really, are there any actual news outlets anymore? Anyone who actually does investigative reporting? Anyone who isn't yellow?

make me some tea		2013-01-26 12:50:34 PM

In other news, CNET is still around. I don't believe I've visited that site in many years.

whither_apophis		2013-01-26 12:59:43 PM

eh happens everywhere, NBC never reports on GE, ABC never reports on Disney...

/If only there was some way to stop the consolidation of media ownership

usernameguy		2013-01-26 01:37:04 PM

CBS has been meddling in their news divisions for years.

Nemo's Brother		2013-01-26 02:37:23 PM

whither_apophis: eh happens everywhere, NBC never reports on GE, ABC never reports on Disney...

/If only there was some way to stop the consolidation of media ownership

The liberal media at work.

All of this started with the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Clinton has ruined us in so many ways CBS and others would dare not report.

heinrich66		2013-01-26 02:44:00 PM

This is all just CONSPIRACY THEORY. So many people with ill-intent can't POSSIBLY be acting in concert in such a way.

Mad_Radhu		2013-01-26 02:45:54 PM

whither_apophis: eh happens everywhere, NBC never reports on GE, ABC never reports on Disney...

/If only there was some way to stop the consolidation of media ownership

I think it is actually pretty funny that after years of being the butt of jokes on the show, GE's been running farewell ads for 30 Rock.

thamike		2013-01-26 02:55:34 PM

Nemo's Brother: The liberal media at work.

All of this started with the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Clinton has ruined us in so many ways CBS and others would dare not report.

Is this sarcasm?

Duke Skymocker		2013-01-26 03:00:20 PM

thamike: Nemo's Brother: The liberal media at work.

All of this started with the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Clinton has ruined us in so many ways CBS and others would dare not report.

Is this sarcasm?

Either that or ignorance.

drjekel_mrhyde		2013-01-26 03:10:19 PM

Nemo's Brother: The liberal media at work.

Like Fox News would report on FX

Lochsteppe		2013-01-26 03:10:34 PM

RoxtarRyan		2013-01-26 03:10:42 PM

CNET lost credibility when the site it ran, download.com (who for many years promised that the software they host is free of malware, trojans and other crap) started to use the same tricks other freeware companies use to install toolbars, malware, crappy anti-virus software and other crapware a last year.

Snapper Carr		2013-01-26 03:14:48 PM

It's really sad that CBS was once home to Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow.

Starhawk		2013-01-26 03:17:05 PM

[well-bye.jpg]

Goodfella		2013-01-26 03:17:29 PM

Duke Skymocker: thamike: Nemo's Brother: The liberal media at work.

All of this started with the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Clinton has ruined us in so many ways CBS and others would dare not report.

Is this sarcasm?

Either that or ignorance.

Yeah, fark the Fairness Doctrine, that, although not completely dead by the time Clinton's presidency started, had the final nails driven into it by his administration.

Yes, I think we can all agree that we'd all be worse off if the Fairness Doctrine was still in effect today.

skinink		2013-01-26 04:48:36 PM

Oh please. The movie "Network" prophesized that news divisions would be compromised. This CNet thing should be the least bit surprising.

make me some tea		2013-01-26 04:52:16 PM

RoxtarRyan: CNET lost credibility when the site it ran, download.com (who for many years promised that the software they host is free of malware, trojans and other crap) started to use the same tricks other freeware companies use to install toolbars, malware, crappy anti-virus software and other crapware a last year.

Yup.

Tourney3p0		2013-01-26 04:54:12 PM

skinink: Oh please. The movie "Network" prophesized that news divisions would be compromised. This CNet thing should be the least bit surprising.

Lots of things that aren't surprising are still sad when they happen.

Flint Ironstag		2013-01-26 04:55:51 PM

They should look at the BBC in the UK. Not only does (state owned) BBC frequently report bad news about the government (like exposing Blair faked the 'Iraq has WMDs' report) but in the recent Savile scandal we even had one BBC news programme running a critical report about another BBC news programme. That's editorial independence!

thamike		2013-01-26 04:58:11 PM

Goodfella: Yeah, fark the Fairness Doctrine, that, although not completely dead by the time Clinton's presidency started, had the final nails driven into it by his administration.

Yes, I think we can all agree that we'd all be worse off if the Fairness Doctrine was still in effect today.

OK, what do you think you're talking about?

GF named my left testicle thundercles		2013-01-26 05:02:43 PM

and people talk about the decline of centralized news organizations as if it is a bad thing.

bsharitt		2013-01-26 05:16:12 PM

The loss of CNET's journalistic integrity would have been a huge scandal in 1998.

MrEricSir		2013-01-26 05:21:52 PM

Gee, if only a wisecracking talking head had warned us about this in the mid 80's so we could have done something about it...

7th Son of a 7th Son		2013-01-26 05:29:47 PM

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57565974-93/cea-backs-dish-in-hopper- copyright-lawsuit/

interesting this was posted on cnet.

bmr68		2013-01-26 07:30:38 PM

Never doubted their credibility until now. Sad day for CNET.

ChubbyTiger		2013-01-26 07:31:16 PM

Honestly, I feel bad for the CNet staff. Not a great site, but I think they had decent stuff for the non-technical crowd. For any of them that have any ethics, this is going to be a tough time.

BarkingUnicorn		2013-01-26 07:41:43 PM

Honest Bender: Well, I guess they can just go ahead and stop calling themselves a news outlet, then. Just an editorial soap box. I guess I should be upset or something. But, really, are there any actual news outlets anymore? Anyone who actually does investigative reporting? Anyone who isn't yellow?

Sure!

jake_lex		2013-01-26 08:38:37 PM

BarkingUnicorn: Honest Bender: Well, I guess they can just go ahead and stop calling themselves a news outlet, then. Just an editorial soap box. I guess I should be upset or something. But, really, are there any actual news outlets anymore? Anyone who actually does investigative reporting? Anyone who isn't yellow?

Sure!

That was one of the few times I blindly clicked on a link and would have rather seen the goatse or Lemon Party sites.

broadsword		2013-01-26 09:02:34 PM

Flint Ironstag: They should look at the BBC in the UK. Not only does (state owned) BBC frequently report bad news about the government (like exposing Blair faked the 'Iraq has WMDs' report) but in the recent Savile scandal we even had one BBC news programme running a critical report about another BBC news programme. That's editorial independence!

This.

However as a non-Brit, it always stunned me that everyone there was annoyed about having to pay their TV tax every year for the BBC. It's a freaking bargain if you ask me.

slayer199		2013-01-26 11:26:51 PM

CNET will be going belly up. Not that I was a huge follower of CNET, but will anyone think they have journalistic integrity going forward?

RyansPrivates		2013-01-26 11:42:50 PM

As much as I abhor CNET (for various reasons), this meddling sux even worse. Previously they were ignorant hacks; now they are bought and paid for stoogie ignorant hacks.

Just a quick list of things you can use to replace the various functions you might think you need from CNet:

Tech News: Google News
Product reviews: Google and Amazon
Software downloads: Google

There. Have fun.

Insurgent		2013-01-27 12:44:25 AM

i was looking for a free app the other day (forget what it was) and CNET came up in a google search. i read the review and was about to download it until i scrolled a bit further and saw all the comments that basically said "THIS WILL INSTALL MALWARE ON YOUR COMPUTER"

TellarHK		2013-01-27 06:12:46 AM

Yep, CNET is dead to me. I'm sorry, CNET writers, editors, and staff. But CBS screwed you, and screwed you hard. My hope is that those of you who disagree with CBS's interference will be able to find a new employer that at least pretends not to pimp you out like corporate whores.

Those CNET employees that have no problem with what CBS is doing should find that their qualifications will help them find top-flight jobs in either the food service or housekeeping industries.

thamike		2013-01-27 09:28:40 AM

ChubbyTiger: Honestly, I feel bad for the CNet staff. Not a great site, but I think they had decent stuff for the non-technical crowd. For any of them that have any ethics, this is going to be a tough time.

True story bro--An hour ago I woke from a nightmare in which I worked for TMZ, making $15K a year as their token "Empathy Guy." I think it sums up why I subtracted myself from professional journalism altogether.

Flint Ironstag		2013-01-27 10:17:47 AM

broadsword: Flint Ironstag: They should look at the BBC in the UK. Not only does (state owned) BBC frequently report bad news about the government (like exposing Blair faked the 'Iraq has WMDs' report) but in the recent Savile scandal we even had one BBC news programme running a critical report about another BBC news programme. That's editorial independence!

This.

However as a non-Brit, it always stunned me that everyone there was annoyed about having to pay their TV tax every year for the BBC. It's a freaking bargain if you ask me.

I think so. It's $19 a month and the BBC has four main channels, plus news channel, kids channel, dozens of radio stations, a website and their online iPlayer, all with no adverts.
Plus they can do things like have Clarkson on Top Gear say a car is utter crap without caring what any advertisers say.
Plus there are lots of commercial competitors if you want more choice, and the BBC cooperates with them, like for the Olympics the BBC gave Sky (the Murdoch owned satellite platform) a dozen live feeds so viewers could watch every event live, in full, with no adverts. They even had the opening ceremony with no commentary at all if you just wanted to watch it as is.

Radio 4 also has a lot of shows ( Like So Wrong It's Right with Charlie Brooker ) that often cross over onto TV.

Dr. Goldshnoz		2013-01-27 11:30:18 AM

you cant all delete cnet from the list of unbiased comprehensive tech news sites.

farkeruk		2013-01-27 11:43:53 AM

Who cares?

I stopped reading commercial tech sites years ago. If I want to know about a motherboard or a piece of hardware, I Google it, find forums and reviews where people who bought it are using it.

It's not just more honest, it's often more realistic. They didn't just try it out for half a day in a lab situation, they used it in anger and can tell you what's good and bad about it.

SuperChuck		2013-01-28 10:44:21 AM

Snapper Carr: It's really sad that CBS was once home to Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow.

Cronkite was as biased as anyone on TV today.

mikee		2013-01-28 01:59:22 PM

broadsword: Flint Ironstag: They should look at the BBC in the UK. Not only does (state owned) BBC frequently report bad news about the government (like exposing Blair faked the 'Iraq has WMDs' report) but in the recent Savile scandal we even had one BBC news programme running a critical report about another BBC news programme. That's editorial independence!

This.

However as a non-Brit, it always stunned me that everyone there was annoyed about having to pay their TV tax every year for the BBC. It's a freaking bargain if you ask me.

I think so. It's $19 a month and the BBC has four main channels, plus news channel, kids channel, dozens of radio stations, a website and their online iPlayer, all with no adverts.
Plus they can do things like have Clarkson on Top Gear say a car is utter crap without caring what any advertisers say.
Plus there are lots of commercial competitors if you want more choice, and the BBC cooperates with them, like for the Olympics the BBC gave Sky (the Murdoch owned satellite platform) a dozen live feeds so viewers could watch every event live, in full, with no adverts. They even had the opening ceremony with no commentary at all if you just wanted to watch it as is.

Radio 4 also has a lot of shows ( Like So Wrong It's Right with Charlie Brooker ) that often cross over onto TV.

Absolutely nobody in Britain resents paying the BBC licence fee apart from a few wingnuts.

The only reason you think that is because the rest of the right wing media - who are in competition for the BBC for media eyeballs - make it their business to slag it off at every opportunity (cf Daily Mail, Murdoch-owned Sun etc).

The BBC is awesome. About the only thing left in Britain to be proud of (well, that and the pork scratchings)

Some 'Splainin' To Do		2013-01-28 05:18:48 PM

farkeruk: Who cares?

I stopped reading commercial tech sites years ago. If I want to know about a motherboard or a piece of hardware, I Google it, find forums and reviews where people who bought it are using it.

It's not just more honest, it's often more realistic. They didn't just try it out for half a day in a lab situation, they used it in anger and can tell you what's good and bad about it.

That kind of breaks down when you realize that companies hire shills to go through and write good reviews of their products.

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