One of Apple’s education profile stories has caught some heat for highlighting how Mac products are teaching a new generation of journalists the trade.
Some question whether those would-be Woodward and Bernsteins at the Missouri School of Journalism should be pledging allegiance to Apple, one of the world’s most powerful companies.
“When did those who claim to uphold the top standards of journalism decide that doing blatant commercial endorsements would have no impact on the credibility of the school, The Missourian, KOMU and KBIA?” wonders MU School of Journalism grad Vince Patton in a letter to the school calling the profile an “ethical lapse.”
The story in question is 744-word profile on Apple’s website about how the school is “creating media-savvy journalists with Mac” flanked by a couple of videos.
One of the videos begins with platitudes as worn-out as most freelancer’s corduroys (“I believe that accuracy and fairness are fundamental to good journalism”) then gets into the hands-on philosophy of j-school where technology – in the form of Apple computers, mostly – has helped them keep pace with a new generation of digital natives. Patton wonders whether students knew that, along with their j-degrees, they’d be starring in an Apple infomercial.
The Apple-MU relationship has caused a more headaches for the school in recent years than a small-town newspaper reporter sleeping with the mayor.
In 2009, MU created that inevitable ebb and flow of headlines and backlash for insisting incoming journos have either an iPod Touch or iPhone. After criticism that they were pushing Apple products and bumping up student expenses, they downgraded the requirement to a “recommendation.”
Journalism majors this year now have to deal with a squirrely-worded requirement, that is well, the kind of recommendation that sounds like a requirement. The faculty has “designated Apple Computer as its preferred provider” for the mandatory laptops for two reasons:
(1) Apple’s OS X operating system is based on Unix, which makes these computers far less susceptible to viruses than other computers. Viruses are a serious problem on university campuses. (2) Apple MacBook and MacBook Pro computers come bundled with iLife, a suite of applications ideal for learning the basics of photo editing, and audio and video editing.
The backlash for this wound up on PBS mediashift, where another MU j-school grad argues:
“I just graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism last month, and I can say with complete certainty that I never once did an assignment in a journalism class that I could not have done on a Windows-based computer. There is no piece of software or functionality in the line of Apple laptops that is essential to a journalism student at Mizzou or any other journalism school.”
What do you think? Should budding journalists — who are supposed to be getting schooled in being unbiased and objective — behave differently than say, pre-med or law students?
Nicole Martinelli is a San Francisco freelance writer who heads up Cult of Mac Magazine, our weekly publication available on iTunes. You can find her on Twitter and Google+. If you’re doing something new, cool and Apple-related, email her.
54 responses to “Are Apple endorsements an ‘ethical lapse’ for journalism school?”
Computers are tools. They should outline requirements for word processing and photo editing, not what machine runs the software.
No wonder the media loves Apple so much. They’ve been trained to do so since day one.
The problem this creates is that liking a good product is different from under-the-cover advertising. It’s the kind of thing the media has been doing without a care in the world for quite some time now.
Little bit confused by this story! Simply pointing out great machines and software for the students? Are people reading into this too much? Lighten up people! :)
This isn’t “pointing out” the allegedly ‘great’ machines. This is “You must own one of these or else”.
They are on the required materials list. To me that is ridiculous.
Ethics and Journalism have been at odds ever since Main Stream media crawled into bed with the Liberal Left. If we want to explore the “ethical lapses” of journalists we can quickly find a cornucopia of examples in Washington, DC, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. “Journalist’s” who blatantly mislead readers with have truths, partial facts or outright lies are the norm now a days.
Gone are the days of being able to trust what a journalist reports, instead one must take everything they read, hear or see with a very large grain of salt and consider it entertainment at best.
I would much rather have a journalist pimping Apple products than pimping Obama in ’12 or the next great political failure.
I would be quick to say that Apple strong-arming at MU is a very Right wing, pro-corporate-liberty kinda thing to happen. I am not even American and I can see this.
There must be a secret deal going on between the University and Apple. Even if there is one I can understand why the University would push apple products on students. There are less viruses if any which saves the schools systems the headache. It also protects the students from headaches. They require less maintenance, they have less problems, they last longer than the majority of windows computers with their cheap parts that break after a few months of use. I’m not saying apple is perfect but they back up their products more than anyone else. Windows and Apple both have the same programs some made by different people but the major ones are the same but they always look better and majority of the time work better on mac computers. Plus the school has the right to make up its requirement for students and if they don’t like it then they can go somewhere else. Some people are mad that they are forced to have a mac computer, but can they say it was unreliable? Can they say they had issues with their macs that weren’t able to get fixed almost instantly? If they did have issues how much of a headache was it and was it worse of a headache than a windows computer? Can you say the same thing with the majority of windows computers out there?
Yes macs cost more upfront; but you are paying for design, reliability, warranty, lack of viruses, more reliable software and a more reliable operating system. How many companies can say the same thing with their products? Plus if you go toe to toe with the cost of parts and software between a mac and windows computer windows computers will end up costing more than macs do. Most people argue that you can build your own computer for a cheaper price with the same parts, but they never add the cost of the operating system they have to purchase to run the computer. How many versions of windows are there? After the purchase of the operating system it puts it way over the cost of a mac. Don’t believe it? Then prove it with the same parts or better parts with the cost of the equivalent windows operating system which would most likely be the professional version but I will also accept the home version.
The reason I choose a mac over windows is because its the best OS overall according to all the computer magazines out there. If there was a better OS out there then I would be using that but since there isn’t anything better then I’ll stick with a mac. If I was a gamer I would have windows computer since they are the best for gaming, but that is why we have choice. I’m sure it won’t be long till apple takes over gaming too.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
/sarcasm
Hint: Those magazines that you are reading are written by journalists. This article literally proves that journalists have been forced to use Apple since school and told by their institutions that it is better because the Colleges have been paid under the table. Don’t you think that would have an effect on their opinion, and thus what they write?
Am I the only one who thinks that maybe the kids bought Macs cuz they wanted one?
Yes. If you read, it actually says that they MUST have one.
Read next time.
,I päid $21.41 for an íPad 2.64GB and my boyfriend loves his Panasoníc Lumíx GF 1 Cámera that we got for $38.79 there arriving tomorrow by UP S.I will never pay such expensive retail príces in stores again. Especially when I also sold a 40 inch LCD T V to my boss for $657 which only cost me $62.81 to buy.
Here is the website we use to get it all from, EgoWín.com
tinyurl.com/2df4ccp
What about math and science fields that rely on Windows based programs? Are we teaching those students to be biased towards Windows? And Google is a major corporation- are we training our students to be biased towards Google for doing research?
I think “requiring” a student to use a certain platform or OS is stretching it. Simply stating that the course will be taught using Apple’s software and its recommended to use a Mac in the class- but if you’re confident that you can do the same work on a Windows machine- then we won’t stop you seems more balanced, but still- there are things in universities called computer labs. Like when I did my “Research Methods” course and the software we were using was Windows only- I would go to the lab to do my assignment. I’m sure the University has a lab with Macs.
My alma mater also had a partnership with Dell, where the university would ‘recommend’ incoming students to have a computer with certain specs, and underneath would be an ad offering a discount for a Dell computer with those exact same specs at the University bookstore.
Recommending students use Apple products isn’t forcing them to worship at the feet of Steve Jobs and buy a new iProduct every school year.
That’s the thing, there isn’t a single Application on that Mac that the school uses that is not on Windows too, there is no discount and the school actually tried to force its students to not only buy Macs, but also iPhones and iPod touches for no real reason.
It’s more about industry standard than plugging Apple products. The reality is that in the fields of journalism, marketing, advertising and public relations most employers are typically going to use macs. Yes you can use Windows based computers but more companies are using Macs because of the ease of use. I also find it funny that people are upset because the school asks students to buy Macs. Because I don’t ever remember people complaining when everyone was running out purchasing Windows based computers for YEARS.
we’ve been trained to be loyal to brands since day 1. Apple is good at marketing and making their products shiny and sleek and they’re good at promoting features and downplaying critcisms against it. Lately, most of Apple’s competition’s marketing is based on- “We’re not Apple” which just gives Apple more press when they don’t prove to be as successful.
While you certainly can use Windows computers to do some work in journalism (writing and text editing for instance), many journalists profoundly believe that photography, video editing, graphics, layout and design, and production still are best done using a Macintosh.
Display and printer calibration, color matching, accurate WYSIWYG editing, color calibration hardware and software and typographic tools (fonts, font hinting and font management) still are superior on the Mac. Furthermore, you will not find viable Windows alternatives to modern iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad hardware and software — and won’t for years to come. And, it’s a multi-device mobile world now. Ideally, today’s reporters need the latest smartphones, tablets and notebook computers that can edit words, pictures and video and then smoothly sync the data to each device.
In many of these areas, Microsoft technology never caught up with Apple, and now, it has fallen far behind in the mobile revolution.
Also, Microsoft earned its reputation for poor Windows security the hard way. I can tell you that over the years, every newsroom operation in which I worked was brought down at some point by Windows malware and viruses. When this happened, it was the immune Macs in photo, pre-press and art departments (and the employees that knew how to use them) that always saved the day. To some extent, this threat (and potential solution) still exists.
The Mac OS interface itself also remains superior for graphics artists, designers and photographers, who after all, are visually-oriented people. Apple’s OS designers really have done a superior job of creating an interface that recedes into the background so that it isn’t a distraction during content editing. This is especially important when working with images.
So, the notion that Windows machines can handle any journalist’s work is hotly disputed.
Ironically, you’ll still probably find outdated Windows PCs in many of America’s newspaper newsrooms. Newspaper publishers always have been notoriously cheap and their IT departments have long relied on Windows for job security (and cost reduction). Consequently, these companies tend to issue bare bones PC’s to reporters.
From this perspective, the real conflict-of-interest in being beholding to powerful computer companies may be worse in corporate newsrooms rather than j-schools. Many of the media corporations all these students will go to work for have far more problematic ethical conflicts with local advertisers. If you’ve spent any time in any newspaper, magazine, radio or TV newsroom in America, you’ve witnessed advertisers and advertising executives attempt to exert control over editorial decisions. Some editors and organizations are able to resist the undo influence and financial pressures that sometimes are applied, but many don’t. This must be especially true in this economic climate.
Like cameras, computers merely are reporting tools. Some use Sony video cameras, others use Canon. Some use Nikon still cameras, which for years provided superior lenses and strobe lighting systems. Others preferred Canon gear, which once were said to have better auto-focusing and long-lens designs. Now, Canon SLR cameras are said to have a lead (for the moment) in video recording capabilities.
In an ideal world, the tool shouldn’t matter and technology companies leapfrog one another. However, tools do have strengths and weaknesses. Camera systems (more or less) have been equal. This has not necessarily always been the case with the publishing capabilities built into personal computer operating systems.
Finally, software interface differences do get in the way of training. It is extremely difficult for any teacher to be proficient with two computer operating systems. In this case, the University of Missouri teachers felt they had to pick a platform to simplify the teaching and learning experiences. The journalism school was right to do this. And it chose wisely.
Ask anyone – any professional; – who’s done an unbiased TCO on Macs vs PCs in the educational environment and to the last they should tell you that the Macs are cheaper. Once the user is up and running direct user support is almost zero. IT support from Apple is a fraction of the cost of PC makers and Microsoft. Both the durability and lifetime of a Mac is better (If it weren’t for the “PC paradigm” most students could go four years on the same system, not two).
Many schools recommend Macs because it’s a LOT less expensive for the 4 years of the student.
I don’t really see what the big deal is. But the media overall quit worrying about ethics long ago so it doesn’t really matter at this point. Journalism school is a waste of time anyway.
I think if a certain piece of software serves a purpose better than another, adopt it. From what it sounds like, that school chose to adopt Apple products in order to retain a cohesive feel. Do you know how messy things get when a couple of students, including myself, have to go up to the professor after class to see if there is a “Mac” workaround to what we need to do? Requiring OS X makes sure EVERYONE is on the same page(s) lol.
Having said that, I do think that Windows should be allowed and have a place. I most certainly think Macs are worth the price, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t generally expensive. Up until the 2011 MacBook Air, low end Macs were kind of…….meh. These new MacBook Airs are just amazing though. I figure most people buy a new laptop for college anyways, why not the MacBook Air?
If the software (or similar software) is available for both OSes I do not see why you should or should not get a mac or a pc.
But, if the software is only available (and there is no similar software) for one OS, then yeah, you’re kind of stuck in one OS.
when my gf went to college, they told her that in her department they must (highly, highly, highly recommend, is more of a polite way to say it) that they should get ____ OS.Basically you need ____ OS on your computer. And the question I had, does what OS you have really matter when (basically) the same software is available on both platforms?
Computers are tools. Most of the time, and its getting better now, _____ software is on both Mac AND PC. So, why does it matter what OS you run?
But sometimes why one particular OS is “preferred” over another is that they always have used that particular OS. Basically its an “industry standard” OS.
The only problem I see with that, whats the “industry standard” may not always be the best.
So, I follow this little “rules” when I go computer shopping.1) Which platforms is the software available for? And if the software is only for one platform, can I get a similar software that is as good as it for the other platform? (This can help narrow down computers, if a particular software is not avaliable for a certain OS)
2) What is the best possible computer I can buy? (that can run the software)
So first, what oses can the software run on, and then what is the best possible computer.
OS? To me, it dosen’t matter.
Desktop? I have an iMac, since I wanted an all in one (to save space and not make my desk cluttered) and the iMac was the best in its category.
Laptop? Most likely I will end up with a Lenovo Thinkpad (currently debating If I want a 14 inch laptop or a 15 inch laptop) I want to have the best possible laptop (within reason) and overall, its like the best.
So yeah, I would say buy the best possible computer, that meets your critera. If the software (or similar) software is on either OS, choose what is the best computer, period. Regardless of OS. If it is a mac, then its a mac. If its a pc (non mac) its a pc (non mac) Personally? I would say, be fluid and comfortable with multiple OSes. (for most people Windows and OS X will do) Because you never know if you will have to use a Windows or a OS X powered machine. And knowing how to use both comfortable is just going to help you, not hinder you. That being said, I’m comfortable using Windows and OS X and soon will grab a cheap netbook/desktop and drop linux and just get comfortable with it. (I have played around with linux quite often, but I should log more time onto it) All that is going to do is help me, not hinder me.
So, to answer the question?I don’t know anything about journalism, but if the software is available for both OSes, I see no problem if you want a OS X powered machine or a Windows powered machine. (In theory) both should be able to do the job. For some people OS X is the machine and for others windows is the machine. Just buy the best possible computer. And depending on your criteria it could be OS X or windows. And as long as it gets the job done, that what should only matter.
I’m a student at Mizzou. It’s not just journalism…literally almost everyone has a mac.
The school really makes an effort to get us to use Macs. Walking around campus, it’s probably about a 3:1 ratio of macs:PC’s.
Even most of the Windows machines here are Macs! It’s so strange.
Mac has been a friend to the publishing industry since at least 1987, when I joined a newsroom that used ’em for production and pre-print. It was my first experience, and I was hook-line-and-sinker sold on Macs.
I’ve always been an alternative press reporter, here and abroad. Newsletters, weeklies, books, websites, anything but mainstream. And everywhere I turned, Macs ruled. I work now for the only news medium in the country hiring reporters like crazy, and the standard kit is a MB Pro and iPhone for pix and vid. Because they work.
When you’re sweating a looming deadline, editors are hovering and layout is waiting, you need confidence in your tools. Kinda like a F1 pitstop. You can’t afford substandard, iffy and awkward gear. You need something that works perfectly. Something exactly like an Apple product.
Sure I’ve been let down in the past third-of-a-century. But so rarely I can count ’em on the fingers of one hand. When the chips are down and hell-z-poppin’, don’t hand me a Dell.
tinyurl.com/2df4ccp
got an iPa d 2 (32GB) for $ 23.87 and my girlfriend loves her Panasonic Lumi x GF 1 Camera that we got for $ 38.76 there arriving tomorrow by UPS. I will never pay such expensive retail prices in stores again. Especially when I also sold a 40 inch LED TV to my boss for $ 657 which only cost me $ 62.81 to buy. Here is the website we use to get it all from, http://x.co/ZE7O
“Because I don’t ever remember people complaining when everyone was running out purchasing Windows based computers for YEARS.”
Except all of the Mac users.
What’s fun to watch is a school does this and the Mac fanbois drag out all of the excuses that Windows fanbois used 10 years ago. “It’s what they’ll see in the industry!” But turn this around–a school suggests Windows–and watch the Mac fanbois scream!
That said, is the school implicitly endorsing Macs? Yes they are. But schools do this all the time. Look at textbooks–why does one textbook get chosen over another textbook? Because the educators believe that one textbook is better. It’s the same situation here.
The schools have a list of reasons for suggesting Macs. Those reasons are valid. They’re teaching journalism, not technology, and if they have to support a computing platform, they’re supporting the one that is less expensive for them to support. There are plenty of studies showing Macs are less expensive to support than Windows PCs. These are facts–something of which a journalist should be aware.
So is it an “ethical lapse”? No more so than saying such-and-such candidate is lying and here are the facts that show he is lying.
CUNY Graduate School of Journalism is an Apple only Facility and all students are required to have Macbook Pros because the Software packages are run on them, the software package includes. Finalcut, photoshop, quicktime, etc, etc
Oh what a load of crap,
What are they supposed to do? Use a piece of junk to prove they’re ‘objective’.
It’s this obsession with equivalence that’s dumbing us down.
No, it’s a lot less expensive to support. THAT’S why the school likes Macs.
A school does not have to “support” it’s student’s systems.
someone using an Acer inside the picture
No one is required to use either Mac or PC. The university simply says that they recommend Mac, and that they believe Mac will be “better” in the long run. As well as the University is offering special discounts on Mac computers bought on campus.
How is this any different than the multitude of schools recommending Dell, Microsoft Office, etc on their websites and computer requirement letters? You don’t need MS Office to write a paper or do create an interactive slideshow you simply need a computer and a productivity suite of some sort.
I understand that if you’re taking a class like CS&E 101 which teaches you how to use Office then you might want to have MS Office, but this is just more of the same Anti-Apple sentiment that most people have. We have had to put up with all this pro-Microsoft crap all these years, but now that Apple is finally gaining some ground it’s un-ethical or against moral standards to recommend a computer that helps both the school and the student. Go figure….
I find pathetic that no one has managed to come up with a better system than Apple. MAC is today the best and cheapest solution in the long run even though in education I think linux should be the standard.
I’m a premed student at Texas A&M University, and it feels like we have the exact opposite problem, there are a few Mac computers in the labs, but faculty and the IT department don’t seem to know how to use them. They’re basically only good for browsing the web, you can’t even print on them. A majority of the professors only use windows and don’t know a thing about macs.
It’s strange to me because when I look at the students in class I see a majority of Mac computers.
One of my business minor classes (information systems) was required to use windows computers, but could have been done on macs easily.
Growing up I didn’t know what a Mac was until i made the mac switch in high school because none of the public schools in my area use them.
As long as Mac OS/ iOS is an option I will never own another brand
It doesn’t matter what kind of shovel you learn to dig a hole with, you will still dig your hole as deep, as round and as fairly as your personal morals dictate.
agree
I just p a i d $21.87 for an i P a d 2-64GB and my boyfriend loves his Panasonîc Lumîx GF 1 Camera that we got for $38.76 there arriving tomorrow by UPS.I will never pay such expensive retail prices in stores again. Especially when I also sold a 40 inch LED TV to my boss for $657 which only cost me $62.81 to buy.
Here is the website we use to get it all from, http://BídsFírst.Com
Forget Apple. In fact, they shouldn’t drive a car, because that would show loyalty to a brand. I’m not sure what they should eat or wear, because any brand names they prefer would show bias.
And once again, the age old “if you ask a question in your headline, the answer is always no.” pops up.
Obviously these nuts are just a bunch of Windozers…
Even universities in Melbourne, Australia “recommend” using Macs if you’re studying journalism – and for the very same reason(s) MU have given.
I just p a i d $21.87 for an i P a d 2-64GB and my boyfriend loves his Panasonîc Lumîx GF 1 Camera that we got for $38.76 there arriving tomorrow by UPS.I will never pay such expensive retail prices in stores again. Especially when I also sold a 40 inch LED TV to my boss for $657 which only cost me $62.81 to buy.
Here is the website we use to get it all from, http://BídsFírst.Com
I just paíd $20.87 for an íPad 2.64GB and my boyfriend loves his Panasoníc Lumíx GF 1 Cámera that we got for $38.79 there arriving tomorrow by UP S.I will never pay such expensive retail príces in stores again. Especially when I also sold a 40 inch LCD T V to my boss for $657 which only cost me $62.81 to buy.
Here is the website we use to get it all from : http://BidsBit.com
No. As a recent Missouri J-School graduate, I can tell you that the school gives every incoming journalism student a list of recommended computers to buy. When I was there, they said the preferred machine was a MacBook Pro but students could get by with a PowerBook or a MacBook. In other words, the only computers the Journalism School recommended were Macs.
OK, for years many colleges have been Windows-centric, but this was never a problem. Now that this one college is recommending Macs and Apple products it’s become an “ethical lapse”. Despite all the buzz, hype and misinformation–Apple products just don’t have the problems with malware, viruses and spyware that are rampant on Windows. Why not recommend Apple, especially when students are free to use Windows? What’s the problem except a backlash against the most successful company in the world?
I’m a 1985 graduate of Mizzou’s J-School. One of the topics of discussion in ethics lectures at the time was whether or not we would feel ethically compromised because Gannett Corp had provided funding for the very lecture hall we were sitting in, Gannett Hall. Clearly, these kinds of ethical questions are nothing new, and the excellent faculty prepared us well.
It’s interesting to note that personal computers were just starting to become commonplace for students to own. I was lucky enough to be able to borrow a Mac 128K from a classmate to write a paper or two–considerably easier than using my typewriter with correction fluid.
Seeing a lecture hall full of laptops makes me chuckle a bit. The 80s were a transition period away from older technology to embrace newer technology. A lot of the instructional facilities were dated then, and in the process of being modernized. My fellow students in the photojournalism sequence had a bit of a joke amongst ourselves. We said that “if we could do it there, we could do it anywhere.” It does my heart good to see the J-School and the University making recommendations to students to help them be well prepared.
Journalists are constantly targeted by influencers of every type. They must learn how to maintain objectivity in spite of this. A school that insulates its students from threats to objectivity does them a great disservice.
BTW, requiring something helps students get financial aid. Backing off on the requirement would cost Mizzou students in lessened financial aid.
I can see where they are coming from. The requirement is really that they have their own computer. The school should not be naming brands, but just basic specs. Let the students decide for themselves.
That said, if the students were part of a subprogram that deals in video based journalism and they have to be able to run Final Cut, demanding a Mac makes sense cause there is no Final Cut for Windows.
Were the colleges windows centric because the schools banned Macs and refused to allow them access to school networks etc.
Or were they Windows centric cause the world basically was.
Actually in some programs you do need Office cause you need access to the advanced features that Microsoft won’t license
that said there is Office for the Mac.
I have a friend that was a business major at a school that required Windows laptops. He got around it by bootcamping his MBP. He had a professor actually try to kick him out of class for not having the required materials. My friend pointed out that the requirement said a notebook style computer running Windows Vista or higher. Chris held up the computer and asked the whole class “Is this a notebook style computer” to wit they all said yes. He brought up VMware and opened Windows and was all “Is it running Windows Vista or higher?” “yes” “have I met the requirement as stated in the course syllabus.” “yes” (yes for the record Chris is something of a dick and no shock he later switched to prelaw)
The argument is that there is really no reason that the students can only use Macs and thus the school should not be mentioning Macs or Windows. Just “you need your own computer and access to the following types of programs” (not mentioning Office, Pages or anything else)
It’s a valid point
That brings up another issue. Is the school getting a cut of the sales on those computers. That’s another level of bias. They are perhaps strongly recommending Macs because they make money off those sales and either are not selling any other types of computers, don’t make money off those sales or not as much.
Haha that’s awesome. I’m pretty sure that I would be friends with your friend
When I attended Mizzou’s J-School I was required to buy a Sony TC 110 audio recorder. No one jumped up and down to protest that the J-School was promoting Sony. That was back in the dark ages of the 70’s.
I see a few people in the crowd do not have macs. They will probably end up being good journalist since they seem to think for themselves.