Today’s NY Times reported on a Pew Research study about trends in tech news coverage. The research shows that Apple dominates tech news, followed by Google and Microsoft. According to the article:
A yearlong look at technology news coverage by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism found that 15.1 percent of tech articles were primarily about Apple; 11.4 percent were about Google; and a meager 3 percent were about Microsoft. The…study… assessed technology coverage by 52 newspapers, broadcast and Web sites from June 2009 through June 2010.
The article cited a source who attributed Apple’s domination to the way in which the company unveils products:
It’s not as if Microsoft lacks for public relations people. But Apple is especially effective at seizing journalists’ attention, said Amy S. Mitchell, the deputy director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, citing the anticipation for new devices and Apple’s “very public way of releasing products.”
I am not surprised by the research, and think it illustrates the power of the brand, to the extent that in rare cases like Apple, this can make the usual PR tactics seem almost irrelevant – see my earlier stories about how Apple manages to stay in the limelight without following the conventional PR play book (Too Light / Too Heavy in PR and Fear, Loasthing and How to Keep a Secret at Apple)
