There are (at least) two types of a problematic reporter:

1. One whose work is merely to promote an agenda of a corporation, with which s/he is sometimes affiliated
2. One whose experience with the said technology is almost nill (knowledge is missing or inexistent)

Jeff Gould, seemingly a very close friend of Microsoft, has both of the above criteria apply to him.

For the past few months it has been clear that Jeff Gould, who possibly goes by the name "AlexGr" (no idea as to why), is on some sort of a crusade not only against Linux and Free software, but also against ODF, assuming AlexGr is indeed him (maybe it's a close friend of his). I can't help wondering why editors of Slashdot and LinuxToday, for example, have been accepting links to his site. Consider this a warning.

“...the most effective way to address this phenomenon is perhaps to name and shame the 'usual suspects'.”In general, there are many mouthpieces out there and the most effective way to address this phenomenon is perhaps to name and shame the 'usual suspects'. Another recent example is the Burton Group, which we have studied carefully for a while. Some of them cross-reference their colleagues and friends who have a similar agenda (parroting is common also). See, for example, Roughly Drafted's writings on the flirts between Rob Enderle and Dan Lyons). Citations of Enderle, for example, have come to an end in most respectable publications and he was rarely worth paying attention to anyway. The embargos on him came because of business affiliation (Microsoft is his client), deception, and deliberate bait. It's quite clear that many of the above (find more here) merely serve as mouthpieces and it's sometimes a case of seeing 3+ parties in just passing their chatter onto 'the other side' or to the journalists. They give an illusion of a peer-reviewing crowd by amassing a presence where one echoes another.

As for the second point, one must know the domain being discussed and sometimes be an active part of it. To explain what Linux and ODF are all about, journalists are advised to spend some time with them and learn the fundamental differences w.r.t. things that they used to know. There are many journalists who tip their toes in Linux for a few days and then publish their finds in places with wide circulation, essentially spreading myths and wrong assertions. They also fail to understand the profound differences between Free software and Microsoft, which is significantly more profound than the difference between Microsoft and Apple, for instance. ⬆