So, last night I posted about the AllThingsD Conference, where mutual masturbation session had just taken place between Apple CEO Tim Cook, and technology journalists Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg. I basically accused them of using me as a joke to softball questions on China to Cook, and for generally creating an event that exists as a kind of dog and pony show to exalt the WSJ a lot more than it actually asks hard questions of those in power.
Kara Swisher chose to respond to these serious allegations this way:
This is a classic tactic from the schoolyard called I KNOW YOU ARE BUT WHAT AM I?
It's also funny, because it could be read as saying, "Hey, we're just amateurs at being hacks—you, you're the PROFESSIONAL."
I responded:
This morning I woke up to this:
And she blocked me, so the conversation is over.
But if anyone at AllThingsD wants to pick up the conversation, feel free--after all, nothing I'm saying is invented or fabricated. You all know it's true. And it's telling that it pricks her so sharply that she has to taunt, and has no other response.
The truth is journalists should be very concerned about the intimacy between the tech media and the industry that it covers. I'm hardly the first person to point this out, and the fawning interviews that fail to apply even the slightest heat to CEOs like Cook don't do the Swisher and Mossberg any favors in that department.
So block me if you like, Kara, and don't answer. You're the one who purports to be a journalist, not me. Glad you read the questions, hope you think about it even a little bit. I know that a number of people following AllThingsD are thinking about it, and that's good enough for me.
Since this was not enough, AllThingsD founder, godfather of tech journalism, and Twitter heavyweight Walt Mossberg weighed in as well:
I also love how there's an implicit defense in here--because of course, everyone lies. What's notable is that I've actually admitted it.
But this isn't about me, Walt. It's about you, and Kara, and AllThingsD's tenth anniversary, and the kind of place it, and all tech journalism, has grown into.
So if you're done with that same high and mighty chair, Walt, maybe you should wrestle with any of the points I made earlier. Snarking at me isn't going to change that you two chose not to do your jobs last night. And people know it. They've known it for a while.
Like I said before—really do have a great conference,
md