PC World Editor Resigns - Bravo!

[mouser]

Sounds like someone with integrity 

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 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."

http://news.com.com/PC+World+editor+resigns+over+apparent+ad+pressure/2100-1030_3-6181075.html?tag=nefd.top

[zridling]

Huzzah to McCracken! And that little detail is why I've rejected weekly offers to "endorse" software on my little site. Someone does the Microsoft thing every other day of sending me a request for ads or they'll send the big Pro version license key with a download link. I reject them because I want to go through the same process any user would when evaluating and buying their software. I get to find out how crippled their trial version is, check out the version I could afford first, and so on.

That way if I don't like it, I can return some initial feedback, but it doesn't make the list. And I'm free never to feel obligated. Web 2.0 got real nasty this week over the sheer LACK of integrity of DIGG regarding the HD-DVD hex key.

[2stepsback]

And that little detail is why I've rejected weekly offers to "endorse" software on my little site.

Wow!

Someone does the Microsoft thing every other day of sending me a request for ads or they'll send the big Pro version license key with a download link. I reject them because I want to go through the same process any user would when evaluating and buying their software.

  Zaine, that is awesome! 

I get to find out how crippled their trial version is, check out the version I could afford first, and so on. That way if I don't like it, I can return some initial feedback, but it doesn't make the list. And I'm free never to feel obligated.

True. Clean heart, peaceful mind, nice sound sleep 

Awesome Zaine! Refusing green is something not everyone does daily.

[zridling]

Ed Bott, a former PCWorld editor, wrote two posts on this topic, titled:

PC World provides a lesson about editorial independence
What really happened at PC World?

where his main point was that IDG has some explaining to do to assure readers that this same policy was not true for its other publications like InfoWorld: "When a very well respected editor resigns with no notice after more than 13 years on the job and cites “disagreements with management” as the cause, I think anyone is justified in drawing negative inferences. So I repeat: IDG has some explaining to do."

[mouser]

Ed Bott is continuing to write about this story.  In addition to zaine's links above see:
And so PC World begins its death spiral

[cthorpe]

And PC World has decided to run the 10 things we hate about Apple list here.

They are also running a 10 things we love about Apple list here

Also, Harry McCracken has returned to the magazine.

There's a story about this on Cybernet News (http://tech.cybernetnews.com/2007/05/11/after-protests-pc-world-posts-10-things-we-hate-about-apple/)