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Have we really gotten to the point where "some dude quit Facebook" is considered news? The fact that the NYT has degenerated to this is disappointing. While the

Have we really gotten to the point where "some dude quit Facebook" is considered news? The fact that the NYT has degenerated to this is disappointing. While there are certainly fair criticisms of Facebook, this trigger friendly news coverage of the company is becoming outrageous and is detracting from any previous viable points.

tshannon 8y ago
Well, when some dude is a veteran tech journalist whose access to information and networks may depend on him having a facebook account, I'd say it's interesting enough to be newsworthy (although maybe not new york times newsworthy), in my opinion. I may be misunderstanding your claim that it's "detracting from any previous viable points". What points are you referring to that this detracts from?
- aylmao 8y ago
  I don't think it detracts from previous viable points like OP, but I do think the headline might at first trigger an eye-roll on a lot of readers. It sounds like an irrelevant piece of trivia that the NYT wants to blow up in an attempt to just keep throwing mud at Facebook. If one reads the article there's a few interesting points-- it includes some statements by Mossberg and info on his book which will probably include some thoughts on Facebook. I try to at least skim stories before commenting on them which is the only reason I opened this one. The title reads like cheap celebrity journalism. Something more fleshed-out, like an interview going in depth about his thoughts on Facebook and tech's impact as a whole, leading to his book, would've been more "NYT worthy" IMO. And a better title.
- porpoisely 8y ago
  Do you know if the NYTimes wrote an article when mossberg opened his facebook account? If mossberg opening a facebook account isn't news, neither is his closing of his account. Also, mossberg is a journalist. I was under the impression that journalists being the news themselves is bad journalism. Isn't that why most journalists go out of their way to not to be part of a story? If rupert murdoch, in his war with facebook, pressured mossberg to close his account, that would be news. Otherwise, this is just the nytimes and a journalist creating news, not reporting on news.
djohnston 8y ago
gotta keep the narrative alive, especially when it's your competitor
jvagner 8y ago
Facebook has massive reach, feels essential to most people, has gone through a difficult news cycle, issues bad news on a weekly basis, may have undermined democratic stability in some countries, and is a significant component of most corporate marketing PPC strategies. When influential tech personalities, especially ones who are as corporate and CEO friendly as Mossberg, say the are leaving because of a values mis-match, it might be the tipping point for a broader exodus. That's why it's news.
- aylmao 8y ago
  Mossberg had a long career or tech reviews and CEO friends, but I've personally never thought of him as a "thought leader". Moreover, he's unfamiliar to a lot of people. IMO statements by Chomsky would be more news-worthy. Or by people who might have bigger stakes in staying in the platform-- say if the NYT themselves announced they were gonna be leaving the platform. Mossberg is retired. I guess the relevance of this piece depends on each person's admiration for Mossberg.
friedman23 8y ago
The NYT is only good for headlines and even then it's mediocre, every time they have some interesting headline and I open the article and it always starts with some stupid personal anecdote. It's almost as if their journalists are paid by the word.
egwynn 8y ago
Have we really gotten to the point where Walt Mossberg is considered "some dude" on a technology news website?
- jimmy1 8y ago
  Having worked in tech my whole life and been a frequent visitor of the site, I have never heard of him. Regardless, this is still fair criticism. This would be like seeing in the scrolling banner of "Breaking News" on CNN "<Insert Well Known Person in their field> quits job at <Insert large company>" Belongs in maybe the entertainment or business section, maybe, section, but wouldn't classify it as "tech news" ---- Having thought about it a little more, I can see a valid case when said person in question, considered monumental enough, leaves a platform, business or field and is reported as news. I guess it's more of a reflection of how little HN'ers (including myself) think of Facebook in the grand scheme of things. It's just a website. What's next, we report that he or she has left Flickr or Reddit? That's kind of what I think GP and myself were getting at. Now if this person was the founder of Facebook, or instrumental in the success of the platform, and then decides to leave, I think absolutely it would be tech news.
  - MR4D 8y ago
    Your comment surprises me. Walt had a pretty impressive group of friends: https://www.slashgear.com/walt-mossberg-steve-jobs-and-bill-gates-on-technology-at-wsj-all-things-digital-305511/ https://www.slashgear.com/walt-mossberg-steve-jobs-and-bill-...
    - JoshGlazebrook 8y ago
      Yeah.. if you haven't seen any of those interviews ^, I'd give them a watch. They're still pretty relevant.
    - jimmy1 8y ago
      I am not saying that to belittle the man in any sort of way, or diminish his accomplishments, I am just simply saying it shouldn't be surprising that people haven't heard of some other people, despite how famous others think he or she might be. Pretty sure there is an XKCD for this. I have my categories of people where I would react the same way ("What do you mean you have never heard of Carl Sassenrath!?" as an example).
jlarocco 8y ago
Writing it off as "some dude quits Facebook" is pretty narrow minded. For better or worse he has a big audience, and the fact he's publicly quitting Facebook has more real world influence than a bunch of HN geeks doing so.
- malvosenior 8y ago
  I don’t think this will have any real world impact. There has been an all out media assault on Facebook for some time now with no real usage impact. Mossberg‘s audience in particular seems like the least likely group of people to quit FB. Grandparents are going to stay on FB as long as they can keep seeing pictures of their grandchildren, etc... I don’t think anyone uses Facebook because it is “cool” (and thus susceptible to media tarnishing). They use it because their social network is on it and they value that.
mc32 8y ago
Imagine a news story Mark Zuckerberg cancells NYT subscription. It’s like sn onion article or news of the world. Wow, this is kind of petty.

tshannon 8y ago

Well, when some dude is a veteran tech journalist whose access to information and networks may depend on him having a facebook account, I'd say it's interesting enough to be newsworthy (although maybe not new york times newsworthy), in my opinion. I may be misunderstanding your claim that it's "detracting from any previous viable points". What points are you referring to that this detracts from?

aylmao 8y ago
I don't think it detracts from previous viable points like OP, but I do think the headline might at first trigger an eye-roll on a lot of readers. It sounds like an irrelevant piece of trivia that the NYT wants to blow up in an attempt to just keep throwing mud at Facebook. If one reads the article there's a few interesting points-- it includes some statements by Mossberg and info on his book which will probably include some thoughts on Facebook. I try to at least skim stories before commenting on them which is the only reason I opened this one. The title reads like cheap celebrity journalism. Something more fleshed-out, like an interview going in depth about his thoughts on Facebook and tech's impact as a whole, leading to his book, would've been more "NYT worthy" IMO. And a better title.
porpoisely 8y ago
Do you know if the NYTimes wrote an article when mossberg opened his facebook account? If mossberg opening a facebook account isn't news, neither is his closing of his account. Also, mossberg is a journalist. I was under the impression that journalists being the news themselves is bad journalism. Isn't that why most journalists go out of their way to not to be part of a story? If rupert murdoch, in his war with facebook, pressured mossberg to close his account, that would be news. Otherwise, this is just the nytimes and a journalist creating news, not reporting on news.

djohnston 8y ago

gotta keep the narrative alive, especially when it's your competitor

jvagner 8y ago

Facebook has massive reach, feels essential to most people, has gone through a difficult news cycle, issues bad news on a weekly basis, may have undermined democratic stability in some countries, and is a significant component of most corporate marketing PPC strategies. When influential tech personalities, especially ones who are as corporate and CEO friendly as Mossberg, say the are leaving because of a values mis-match, it might be the tipping point for a broader exodus. That's why it's news.

aylmao 8y ago
Mossberg had a long career or tech reviews and CEO friends, but I've personally never thought of him as a "thought leader". Moreover, he's unfamiliar to a lot of people. IMO statements by Chomsky would be more news-worthy. Or by people who might have bigger stakes in staying in the platform-- say if the NYT themselves announced they were gonna be leaving the platform. Mossberg is retired. I guess the relevance of this piece depends on each person's admiration for Mossberg.

friedman23 8y ago

The NYT is only good for headlines and even then it's mediocre, every time they have some interesting headline and I open the article and it always starts with some stupid personal anecdote. It's almost as if their journalists are paid by the word.

egwynn 8y ago

Have we really gotten to the point where Walt Mossberg is considered "some dude" on a technology news website?

jimmy1 8y ago
Having worked in tech my whole life and been a frequent visitor of the site, I have never heard of him. Regardless, this is still fair criticism. This would be like seeing in the scrolling banner of "Breaking News" on CNN "<Insert Well Known Person in their field> quits job at <Insert large company>" Belongs in maybe the entertainment or business section, maybe, section, but wouldn't classify it as "tech news" ---- Having thought about it a little more, I can see a valid case when said person in question, considered monumental enough, leaves a platform, business or field and is reported as news. I guess it's more of a reflection of how little HN'ers (including myself) think of Facebook in the grand scheme of things. It's just a website. What's next, we report that he or she has left Flickr or Reddit? That's kind of what I think GP and myself were getting at. Now if this person was the founder of Facebook, or instrumental in the success of the platform, and then decides to leave, I think absolutely it would be tech news.
- MR4D 8y ago
  Your comment surprises me. Walt had a pretty impressive group of friends: https://www.slashgear.com/walt-mossberg-steve-jobs-and-bill-gates-on-technology-at-wsj-all-things-digital-305511/ https://www.slashgear.com/walt-mossberg-steve-jobs-and-bill-...
  - JoshGlazebrook 8y ago
    Yeah.. if you haven't seen any of those interviews ^, I'd give them a watch. They're still pretty relevant.
  - jimmy1 8y ago
    I am not saying that to belittle the man in any sort of way, or diminish his accomplishments, I am just simply saying it shouldn't be surprising that people haven't heard of some other people, despite how famous others think he or she might be. Pretty sure there is an XKCD for this. I have my categories of people where I would react the same way ("What do you mean you have never heard of Carl Sassenrath!?" as an example).

jlarocco 8y ago

Writing it off as "some dude quits Facebook" is pretty narrow minded. For better or worse he has a big audience, and the fact he's publicly quitting Facebook has more real world influence than a bunch of HN geeks doing so.

malvosenior 8y ago
I don’t think this will have any real world impact. There has been an all out media assault on Facebook for some time now with no real usage impact. Mossberg‘s audience in particular seems like the least likely group of people to quit FB. Grandparents are going to stay on FB as long as they can keep seeing pictures of their grandchildren, etc... I don’t think anyone uses Facebook because it is “cool” (and thus susceptible to media tarnishing). They use it because their social network is on it and they value that.

mc32 8y ago

Imagine a news story Mark Zuckerberg cancells NYT subscription. It’s like sn onion article or news of the world. Wow, this is kind of petty.