Is it news or a free ad?
Today's topic: Apple's iPhone and the media circus that has exploded around its release.
If Apple's Steve Jobs isn't a master salesmen, then he must be the most media savvy person in corporate America. His calculated announcement of this swanky, expensive new Apple product has given the company just what it wanted: unimaginable free publicity before the iPhone even hit the stores.
How to report on (or even if to report on) something like the iPhone - or the next Harry Potter book, or a new talking Elmo doll or another "Star Wars" movie - has become a real issue inside newsrooms as editors wonder if we're becoming part of the publicity machine.
With the speed of light, products like the iPhone get absorbed into our cultural consciousness. Strange things happen, like people standing in line for days to be the first ones to buy the products.
But is that news, or the ultimate example of consumerism gone awry?
You tell me.
Check out some of the stories that have appeared in The News already,.
You can be sure there will be more over the weekend.
