Apr 21, 2010
For sale, Gizmodo’s integrity… Cheap!
The scoop of a lifetime occurred for Gizmodo recently when, through intense research and journalistic savvy they managed to uncover the highly anticipated iPhone — months before it’s release. It would be a great day for Gizmodo were that the case, but in fact it’s not. Gizmodo Forrest Gumped their way into possession of the top-secret device by being willing to pay $5,000 for stolen property.
The top headlines on their site right now read like the front page of a supermarket tabloid:
- How Apple lost the next iPhone!
- How Apple missed chances to get the device back
- Why Apple didn’t leak the iPhone to us
- And finally, how Apple asked to get their phone back
- How we put the phone in an envelope and sent it to them
Okay, I made the last one up, but it isn’t too much of a departure from those that it followed.
For those unfamiliar with the story, apparently an engineer in possession of the iPhone lost it at a bar, another patron found it, it exchanged hands a few times, and somebody offered it to Gizmodo who happily purchased it for 5k. Gizmodo then proceeded to dissect, photograph, and then blog about the device.
It is being debated as to whether they legally did anything wrong. Some have pointed to California penal code indicating that found property is essentially stolen if it is used for profit without making a reasonable effort to return the property to it’s owner. Gizmodo makes the claim that they (or somebody else) called AppleCare to attempt to return the top-secret-prototype. To me, that seems akin to notifying a McDonalds drive-thru employee that I have found their lost copy of the secret-sauce recipe.
Beyond the legal issues are the ethical issues, which seem all to clear to me. Gizmodo did not do any investigation to get this story. They bought stolen property, and are profiting through increased exposure. Add to that, the fact that they aren’t really covering technology here. This story has become pure sensationalism. How Apple lost the next iPhone? How Apple missed chances to get the device back? These “stories” may gather more pageviews, but so would filling the pages with pictures of scantily clad women. But it doesn’t seem like that follows your implied mission.
What’s done is done, and a lot of people support Gizmodo’s efforts (a lot of people read TMZ too.) I for one, have lost respect for a site that I considered to be a credible source of information on technology. Enjoy the increased ad-revenue while it lasts fellas. I hope you have some equally sensational stories to follow this one, because it’s going to be difficult to buy your soul back on an honest man’s salary.