That post about good public relations from the Gizmodo iPhone leak? Well, that seems to be out the window.
Aside from a breaking news tweet from KNX 1070 and a post from CNET, I have not seen much coverage from major outlets. Please note that CBS Radio, who owns KNX, formed a partnership with CNET in the summer of 2008. It is slightly strange more media outlets are not covering the story yet.
On the public relations side...
Apple is letting the legal department speak too much in this situation. In my Public Relations and Advanced Public Relations classes, we constantly talk about not letting lawyers have total control over a situation. Lawyers are more concerned with protecting the company rather than public relations.
An example is the Firestone tire recall debacle in 2000. Aside from different business cultures, lawyers did not want to admit fault, therefore harming any sort of crisis communication response. This cost Firestone a good relationship with Ford, along with incredibly bad publicity.
Apple already got great publicity with the iPhone leak. Letting the lawyers handle the situation and getting police involved is only going to harm the company's reputation. Gizmodo has a huge technophile following, most of which are probably huge Apple nuts. I just cannot grasp why the company wants to jeopardize good relationships it took years to establish.
On the journalist side...
I am slightly torn in this situation. Are bloggers really journalists? People debate this issue endlessly and the general consensus is bloggers actually are. I can see people turning to blogs like Gizmodo or Kotaku as legitimate news sources. Going with this, journalists should be able to protect their sources.
However, this is different than protecting identity. Jason Chen, the Gizmodo editor, bought the device. The device was knowingly taken without permission, as far as Chen knew. Chen paid money for a stolen device. Paying for knowingly stolen merchandise is a crime. It's like buying a stolen car stereo from a chop shop.
Jason Chen is no doubt a journalist. He is also liable for paying $5,000 for a stolen device. Even in the name of journalism, he must have knew the potential problems. I feel bad for the guy, but he needs to face the consequences of what he's done in the name of journalism.
While Chen was wrong, there is no doubt Apple is going to be the big loser. They are going to damage their reputation, especially since Chen gave the device back to them. Apple's public relations department needs to take control of this situation. Take the microphone from the lawyers! Use your public relations skills and turn this situation around!
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