Apple paid tech guru $15K to praise iPod on news shows

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Tech editor Corey Greenberg was paid $15,000 by Apple Computer to feature Apple products during local news appearances, but insists he was not paid to show the same products during appearances as NBC's "Today" show tech editor.



Greenberg said he has received payments from Apple as well as Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Seiko Epson, Creative Technology and Energizer Holdings, after his private contracts were disclosed in a report by the Wall Street Journal.



Greenberg reportedly charged the companies $15,000 apiece to talk up their products on local news shows. However, Greenberg insists he never took payment to place a product on the news. "I have never accepted payment to place a product on NBC News," he told the Washington Post. As for other news shows, "I have never accepted payment to say nice things about a product in any venue."



On Tuesday afternoon, Greenberg clarified his business pacticies, saying he featured Apple and non-Apple products on local television stations as part of a demonstration in which he has been financially paid. In a conversation with the Mac Observer, he said in those instances, the local stations have the opportunity to let viewers know he has been paid to show the products, but in many cases, the stations opt to not shared that information with its viewers.



Last July Greenberg appeared on the "Today" show and praised the iPod as as "a great portable musical player . . . the coolest-looking one" and suggested a compatible device to "share your music with other people."



"This is the way to go," he declared.



Last month, Greenberg was on "Sunday Today" to talk about "the coolest thing," Apple's iPhoto service for digital pictures: "All the information goes up to Apple, Apple sends you a week later this perfect beautifully bound book."



While NBC officials say they were unaware of Greenberg's financial relationships, Greenberg later told The Washington Post that since becoming a "Today" contributor in 2000, "I've made NBC aware of my outside work. . . . I've been aboveboard with NBC."



He said manufacturers hired him as "a spokesperson who could talk credibly and understandably about consumer products," but has since halted his practice of accepting payment for appearances on local shows.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 39
    Well, its kinda funny, I dont see it as "paying off" someody, its just advertisement, product placement. Everybody does it. Everyone here knows how bad-ass the ipod is, not to mention every other product Apple has for sale.



    Shoot, I wish I could afford Howard Stern to talk up my T-shirts....
  • Reply 2 of 39
    m.o.s.tm.o.s.t Posts: 255member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by AppleInsider

    NBC's "Today" show tech editor Corey Greenberg was paid $15,000 by Apple Computer to praise the iPod during an appearance last July.



    Greenberg, an NBC contributor, confirmed yesterday that he has received payments from Apple as well as Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Seiko Epson, Creative Technology and Energizer Holdings, after his private contracts were disclosed in a report by the Wall Street Journal.



    Greenberg reportedly charged the companies $15,000 apiece to talk up their products on news shows.



    Last July he praised the iPod as as "a great portable musical player . . . the coolest-looking one" and suggested a compatible device to "share your music with other people."



    "This is the way to go," he declared.



    And as recently as last month, Greenberg was on "Sunday Today" to talk about "the coolest thing," Apple's iPhoto service for digital pictures: "All the information goes up to Apple, Apple sends you a week later this perfect beautifully bound book."



    While NBC officials say they were unaware of Greenberg's financial relationships, Greenberg later told The Washington Post that since becoming a "Today" contributor in 2000, "I've made NBC aware of my outside work. . . . I've been aboveboard with NBC."



    However, Greenberg insists he never took payment to place a product on the news. "I have never accepted payment to place a product on NBC News," he told the Washington Post. As for other news shows, "I have never accepted payment to say nice things about a product in any venue."



    He said manufacturers hired him as "a spokesperson who could talk credibly and understandably about consumer products," but has since halted his practice of accepting payment for appearances on local shows.
    [ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]




    Looks really really really bad for NBC
  • Reply 3 of 39
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    **Cough** Armstrong Williams **Cough**
  • Reply 4 of 39
    I guess it's only OK if you're a politician and running the government...



    That said, I don't think anyone who is paid to ostensibly be impartial (i.e., not for a special interest group) should be using their privileged position to propagandize to the masses. Only by insisting on full disclosure can this sort of thing ever be controlled.
  • Reply 5 of 39
    xoolxool Posts: 2,460member
    The fact that he was paid for his endorsement, genuine or not, should have been disclosed.



    While I can handle corporate America paying some shill to push product, I can't handle the government doing the same. When my tax dollars are used to espouse views I don't agree I get angry.



    Hear that BUSH!
  • Reply 6 of 39
    msanttimsantti Posts: 1,377member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Xool

    The fact that he was paid for his endorsement, genuine or not, should have been disclosed.



    While I can handle corporate America paying some shill to push product, I can't handle the government doing the same. When my tax dollars are used to espouse views I don't agree I get angry.



    Hear that BUSH!






    Why don't you take the political crap out of here.
  • Reply 7 of 39
    wilcowilco Posts: 985member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by msantti

    Why don't you take the political crap out of here.



    This act by Apple has very relevant parallels with what the current administration has been doing.
  • Reply 8 of 39
    Quote:

    Originally posted by msantti

    Why don't you take the political crap out of here.



    Why? This is the right forum for it.
  • Reply 9 of 39
    yay now my stock goes down again
  • Reply 10 of 39
    wilcowilco Posts: 985member
    Why was my post regarding "Mike Moscow"'s t-shirts deleted? If you're going to allow him to pimp his lousy products, shouldn't criticism of his products be allowed?
  • Reply 11 of 39
    21122112 Posts: 36member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Xool

    The fact that he was paid for his endorsement, genuine or not, should have been disclosed.



    While I can handle corporate America paying some shill to push product, I can't handle the government doing the same. When my tax dollars are used to espouse views I don't agree I get angry.



    Hear that BUSH!




    Imagine that, you are from Berkeley, what a shocker!



    Sure would be nice to see some contrarian thinking some day, on both sides of the idealogical spectrum. I don't like bandwaggoners.
  • Reply 12 of 39
    Quote:

    Originally posted by wilco

    Why was my post regarding "Mike Moscow"'s t-shirts deleted? If you're going to allow him to pimp his lousy products, shouldn't criticism of his products be allowed?



    Check your PM and read the posting guidelines.
  • Reply 13 of 39
    wilcowilco Posts: 985member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by 2112

    Imagine that, you are from Berkeley, what a shocker!



    Sure would be nice to see some contrarian thinking some day, on both sides of the idealogical spectrum. I don't like bandwaggoners.




    So, you believe that the government should be allowed to spend money to pay "journalists" to support their policies in the media?
  • Reply 14 of 39
    schmidm77schmidm77 Posts: 223member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Xool

    The fact that he was paid for his endorsement, genuine or not, should have been disclosed.



    While I can handle corporate America paying some shill to push product, I can't handle the government doing the same. When my tax dollars are used to espouse views I don't agree I get angry.



    Hear that BUSH!




    And I don't like my tax dollars being given to somebody else in a welfare check, but since I don't run the country, I deal with it and find a Libertarian to vote for the next time. Stop crying, because nothing the government does is going to always please you (it certainly doesn't please me); the article has NOTHING to do with the government... you just felt like bashing Bush I guess.
  • Reply 15 of 39
    Quote:

    Originally posted by M.O.S.T

    Looks really really really bad for NBC



    I work at NBC Network News for Nightly News, MSNBC, and The Today Show. This is the first I have heard of anyone from the show getting fired, and we usually hear about things like this.



    It doesn't look bad for NBC, I don't think. A contributor was accepting payment to talk up products, not NBC. Besides, if it is true an exec got canned, related to this or not, I can't believe they wouldn't can the correspondent too.



    EDIT: I take that back. According to my trusty Blackberry, there have been two new exec changes on the Today Show.
  • Reply 16 of 39
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by wilco

    So, you believe that the government should be allowed to spend money to pay "journalists" to support their policies in the media?



    What like that gay male escort and porn site owner turned Whitehouse correspondent.
  • Reply 17 of 39
    wnursewnurse Posts: 427member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by schmidm77

    And I don't like my tax dollars being given to somebody else in a welfare check, but since I don't run the country, I deal with it and find a Libertarian to vote for the next time. Stop crying, because nothing the government does is going to always please you (it certainly doesn't please me); the article has NOTHING to do with the government... you just felt like bashing Bush I guess.



    Bush paying a reporter is a little different don't you think?. Bush is not the government. He is an executive with the government. It's one thing to say the government is using my tax dollars for X, Y or Z. it's quite another to say an individual within that government is using tax dollars to promote his viewpoint. I can see how you totally missed the difference.



    Besides, it's always fun to bash Bush. Whenever you do something stupid, just think, "well, at least i am smarter than Bush". Heck, even a retard thinks he's smarter than Bush.



    See, told you it was fun!!



    Now on the computers. Wasn't microsoft bashed becuase they funded a study that showed windows was cheaper than linux?. When the people who did the study protested that they were unbiased, weren't they universally laughed at? I can't blame apple for playing the game, apparently, other companies felt the same way apple did and also paid the guy but it doesn't make it right. Now what if i had listened to him and bought whatever product he recommended, i would feel betrayed. Why would apple need to pay someone to say the ipod is great?. isnt this self evident?
  • Reply 18 of 39
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by wnurse

    Why would apple need to pay someone to say the ipod is great?. isnt this self evident?



    Not for everybody it isn't, I still need some convincing.
  • Reply 19 of 39
    Quote:

    Originally posted by wnurse

    Bush paying a reporter is a little different don't you think?. Bush is not the government. He is an executive with the government. It's one thing to say the government is using my tax dollars for X, Y or Z. it's quite another to say an individual within that government is using tax dollars to promote his viewpoint. I can see how you totally missed the difference.



    Besides, it's always fun to bash Bush. Whenever you do something stupid, just think, "well, at least i am smarter than Bush". Heck, even a retard thinks he's smarter than Bush.





    Dear Lord,



    I can see this thread going nowhere in a hurry...



    Thank you for wasting 30 seconds of my life with your ill-contrived and completely ridiculous opinion.



    But, I do respect your right to have opinions ... even if they are misguided...



    ANYWAY...



    Apple is paying to push a product, the U.S. government was paying to push a legislation plan. Sure the government uses your tax dollars to do it ... what do you think Apple uses? Somewhere in Cupertino there's a magical money tree Apple gets it's advertising money from. Yeah, please ... you pay for them to advertise their products. Sounds like the same thing if you ask me ... oh well, no one's going to win this one...
  • Reply 20 of 39
    Quote:

    Originally posted by AgNuke1707

    Dear Lord,



    I can see this thread going nowhere in a hurry...



    Thank you for wasting 30 seconds of my life with your ill-contrived and completely ridiculous opinion.



    But, I do respect your right to have opinions ... even if they are misguided...



    ANYWAY...



    Apple is paying to push a product, the U.S. government was paying to push a legislation plan. Sure the government uses your tax dollars to do it ... what do you think Apple uses? Somewhere in Cupertino there's a magical money tree Apple gets it's advertising money from. Yeah, please ... you pay for them to advertise their products. Sounds like the same thing if you ask me ... oh well, no one's going to win this one...




    But I won't go to jail for not buying Apple products. What do you think will happen if I don't pay my taxes?



    But anyway, did Bush & Co ever actually pay someone to promote them, or did they just insinuate that anyone who spoke ill of them was a terrorist?



    I always thought it was more of the latter... like the FBI showing up at a girl's house over a LiveJournal post, or last week when the FBI investigated an art exhibit featuring politically oriented postage stamps.
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