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Logrolling in Our Time – The Sequel
Following up on my [post] of a few days ago that called out the New York Times for publishing an essay by one of its writers trumpeting the Google party line while neglecting to disclose the author’s association with Google, and that failed to indicate that one of the sources quoted on the deal works for a company (Publicis) that may benefit by it…
Even after bloggers and online journalists took the Times [to] [task], today the other shoe dropped — Google published a [website] entitled, “Facts about the Yahoo-Google advertising agreement” that collects in one place the flackish arguments in favor of the deal that’s now under review by the Department of Justice and European Commission. The site quotes prominent sources that back up Google’s claims, notably highlighting the very New York Times article that people have raised issues with and also features a quote from Maurice Levy — the CEO of Publicis — who views the deal as “very positive.” No kidding.
The arrogance of this company is really… unbelievable.
Posted in Technology 09/25/08 | 
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You sure do have some beef with Google, huh? I’m not sure I see anything here aside from sloppy journalism. What multi-billion dollar company wouldn’t try to manipulate it’s own PR this way? If the press is complicit in manipulation of this sort, blaming the company is a bit like blaming the mistress instead of the husband, it seems to me.
Comment by Aatom — September 26, 2008 @ 4:56 pm
Aatom, Google is a symptom, an emblem, of a general trend in dodgy values that underpin the New Economy. They have enormous and growing influence as the gatekeeper to the online economy, but operate practically in secret. Their public face is a wall of beneficent PR that people, including journalists apparently, are too willing to lap up. You’re absolutely right that Google’s self-interested posturing is not unique — what’s unique is how brazen they are about it.
Underlying this is a more general concern (addressed [here] and [here]) that New Economy entities like Google and Craigslist are very efficient at undermining the economics of traditional media — institutions that developed standards over decades — leaving us vulnerable to the slipshod, fly-by-night New Media wannabes that roost waiting to replace them. It’s not a far jump from undermining economics to undermining values.
Seeing the New York Times willingly compromise its standards in support of Google’s drive toward monopoly was too much irony to bear.
Comment by Sprague D — September 27, 2008 @ 12:28 pm
Hmm. Well, you are certainly more of an expert than I am on these tech matters. I suppose someone should be watchdogging a phenomenon like Google, and I can’t imagine a better one than you.
Comment by Aatom — September 29, 2008 @ 6:57 pm