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Comment by thaumaturgy | Hacker News Reader

Any chance you're willing to make some more-public comments regarding this?

How do you mean?

I'm not media-savvy at all, so: is it worth publicly addressing articles (or reporters) like this one, in the form of a counter-interview or something, or is it better to just ignore it and keep on doing what you do?

I'd think that on the one hand, too many articles like this could begin to have a negative impact on the startup industry. Or, that reporters might handle their reporting a little more honestly if they got slapped for going in with a strong, conscious bias to begin with. On the other hand, it might just stir up more trouble and negative attention.

If you do this you will get much better results by prominently mentioning the reporter's name rather than (say) the Wall Street Journal.

The Journal is an institution, the reporter is just a person. Criticize the Journal and they will all have her back. Criticize her politely, calmly, but from a prominent platform... and her fellow reporters will wonder whether she might be screwing up the Journal's reputation, and internal pressure will be applied. Funny how that works.

Reporters self google more than anyone else alive and have remarkably thin skins given how much they dish out.

The Journal might retaliate by sending a sleazeball reporter like Pui Wing Tam (who went to the extent of stalking Benioff) to write a hit piece, so be prepared to go to war if you do this.

"When you're young, you look at television and think, There's a conspiracy. The networks have conspired to dumb us down. But when you get a little older, you realize that's not true. The networks are in business to give people exactly what they want. That's a far more depressing thought. Conspiracy is optimistic! You can shoot the bastards! We can have a revolution! But the networks are really in business to give people what they want. It's the truth."

- Steve Jobs

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.02/jobs_pr.html

The depressing reality in this case is that someone figured out that what sells newspapers to a mainstream audience isn't stories about cool new technology, but stories about conflict. It's why newspapers separate the technology section out from the main news section.

Conflict is what made "The Social Network" such a great movie. The story isn't about social networking, it's about manipulation, ruthless ambition and betrayal. Themes that are as old as humanity itself.

As an aside, I doubt pg will get into a pissing contest with some journalist, as that wouldn't help himself, his reputation or YC. There is nothing to be gained by going to "war".

EDIT: Grammar

Well said re:getting anyone into pissing contest. Charlie Munger once marked - "Don't wrestle with a pig, you'll both get dirty but the pig will like it.", I think that still holds true.

A letter to the editor?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com