Who says industry magazines are cozy with their advertisers?

A Nod to Journalistic Integrity Is Seen in an Editor’s Return
By DAVID S. JOACHIM
Who says industry magazines are cozy with their advertisers?

Last week, the International Data Group removed the chief executive of its largest-circulation computer magazine, PC World, and reinstated its top editor, who had quit days earlier over the executive’s decision to not run an article critical of an advertiser.

The editor in chief, Harry McCracken, rejoined the magazine on Wednesday after the disputed article, “10 Things We Hate About Apple,” was posted on the magazine’s Web site.

It was a hero’s homecoming for Mr. McCracken, who was praised on the PCWorld.com message boards and in the blogosphere for sacrificing himself in the name of journalistic integrity.

“I was on the brink of canceling my subscription,” wrote one reader. “Now that McCracken’s back, I’ll stick around, too.”

PC World, a monthly magazine with a companion Web site that mixes technology news with product reviews, has a reputation for smart and sometimes hard-hitting articles that often offend big tech companies.

In recent years, it has criticized several of its advertisers for what it described were bait-and-switch tactics and price gouging. Its survey of the reliability of manufacturers has given poor ratings to several of the magazine’s advertisers. It even has a regular column chronicling the defects in Microsoft software.

Mr. McCracken says that several advertisers have withdrawn ads over the years, after their products were negatively reviewed in the magazine, most recently last month. (He would not name the advertiser.)

“PC World is surprisingly reportorial, especially against some other technology magazines that don’t invest a lot” in articles that might provoke companies, said Sam Whitmore, an analyst in Beverly, Mass., who tracks technology publishers.

That may explain why Mr. McCracken’s resignation drew the attention of hundreds of bloggers. It became a cause célèbre for many who viewed the spiking of the article as an affront to Silicon Valley’s Fourth Estate. To others, it was a confirmation of what they had long suspected — that the business side routinely meddles in editorial decisions at technology magazines, especially in recent years, as ad pages have declined considerably, leaving many magazines to rely on only a handful of advertisers.

Mr. McCracken says he did not quit to make a statement. But now, a part of him is glad that the skirmish became public. “With the conclusion we reached, this should tell everyone that computer journalism isn’t sleazy,” he said.

Even so, on blogs and in interviews, some observers noted that the final version of the Apple article appeared next to another article titled, “10 Things We Love About Apple,” making them wonder whether a compromise had been made to appease Apple, and whether the “We Hate” article had been toned down before publication.

Mr. McCracken, a 12-year veteran of PC World, said that the dustup with his boss occurred while the “We Hate” article was still a draft, and that editing was done before it was published. He said, however, that it was edited without consideration to how Apple might react. He also said that the “We Love” article had been planned all along.

He acknowledged that the “We Hate” article made for an odd source of controversy, because it required little reporting and contained no news. “We saw it as a fun little story that would get people talking,” he said. Wired News called it a “fluffy piece of Digg bait” meant to compel user-driven news sites like Digg.com to link to it.

The ousted chief executive of PC World, Colin Crawford, has been reassigned to his old job of overseeing business development for International Data’s online properties. He did not respond to messages left at his office and on his cellphone.

Mr. Crawford, who had been at PC World for only two months, spent 10 years as chief executive of the company’s Macworld magazine, which is devoted to Apple’s line of Macintosh products. International Data also runs the Macworld convention, where the chief executive of Apple, Steven P. Jobs, introduced the iPhone in January.

Apple is “not just any advertiser,” Mr. Whitmore, the analyst, said, pointing out that Mr. Jobs had a reputation for trying to influence coverage of the company.

Apple did not return calls seeking comment. The writers of the Apple articles, Narasu Rebbapragada and Alan Stafford, declined to comment.

Editor resigns over apparent ad pressure

PC World editor resigns over apparent ad pressure

By Tom Krazit
http://news.com.com/PC+World+editor+resigns+over+apparent+ad+pressure/2100-1030_3-6181075.html

Story last modified Thu May 03 06:39:03 PDT 2007


Award-winning Editor-in-Chief Harry McCracken of PC World resigned Tuesday over disagreements with the magazine's publisher regarding stories critical of advertisers, according to sources.
McCracken, reached Wednesday evening, confirmed that he resigned after 12 years at the magazine and 16 years at publisher International Data Group, over disagreements with management. He declined to comment on the nature of those disagreements.

But three sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told CNET News.com that McCracken informed staffers in an afternoon meeting Wednesday that he decided to resign because Colin Crawford, senior vice president, online, at IDG Communications, was pressuring him to avoid stories that were critical of major advertisers.

Wired News reported Wednesday evening that McCracken quit after Crawford killed a draft story titled "Ten Things We Hate About Apple."

An IDG representative confirmed McCracken resigned, but said he was unable to comment on personnel matters. In an e-mail to News.com, Crawford denied that advertiser pressure played any part in McCracken's resignation.

PC World is best known for its product reviews and how-to expertise. The magazine has won numerous awards over the years for its coverage of the PC industry and technology in general, including six prizes--such as Best Computer/Consumer Magazine--just awarded last week at the Maggie awards, run by the Western Publications Association.

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"I spent 12 years at PC World; it's been incredibly good to me," McCracken said. He said he will still have some sort of writing relationship with the organization.

A source at PC World who wished to remain anonymous praised McCracken's decision.

"It saddens us all that Harry, a PC World institution, decided to leave," the source said. "But dammit, we're proud of him of doing it."


PC World is published by IDG, a venerable trade publishing organization that has been covering the technology industry since 1964. The monthly magazine reaches 4.3 million "purchase influencers," and PCWorld.com has 6.8 million unique visitors per month, according to a Wednesday press release touting the Maggies winners.

IDG also publishes well-known trade magazines and Web sites about the computer industry such as ComputerWorld, Network World, and InfoWorld, which recently shuttered its print publication and focused solely on its Web site. IDG was founded by Patrick McGovern and is privately held.

Crawford has been with IDG since 1994, according to his blog, when he became CEO of Macworld. He ran Macworld until 2003, when he became vice president of business development within IDG's corporate management structure, before assuming his current role.