Last week, TheStreet.com ran a story about a possible deal involving Apple and an Israeli startup. The story has since been heavily edited. Here’s how it originally appeared:
Apple is in talks to buy a flash storage company for mobile products called Anobit Technologies for $400 million to $500 million, Israeli newspaper Calcalist reports.
If a deal were to materialize, it would be Apple’s biggest company acquisition since bringing legendary founder Steve Jobs back to the company by buying NeXT Computers in 1996. For a company that’s relied on inventing and growing internal products to win consumer loyalty, a flash-focused deal could potentially solve an oft cited bother of Apple’s popular iPhone and iPad products – their inability to handle Adobe’s Flash program that allows Web users to view applications, pictures and video.
You see the problem? The author mixes up flash memory—the silicon chips that go into digital cameras, phones, and computing devices like the iPad—with Adobe’s Flash software, which plays back media files on a variety of platforms, including Windows and the Mac.
The story was quickly edited, with the egregious errors removed and this explanatory note added:
Story updated to reflect difference between flash memory hardware and flash software.
Ah, but the original lives on, thanks to this screen capture.
The worst part? The author of that story has an impressive journalistic background, including a master’s degree in business and economic journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. (Columbia should ask for its return.)
But here’s the best part:
Prior to moving into journalism, Antoine worked as an analyst in the fixed-income operations of Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital.
Yeah, Lehman Brothers. The largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history. At dead center in the great banking collapse of 2008.
It’s bad enough that clowns like this destroyed the economy. Now they’re messing with my profession?
Begone!
Ed Bott (@ wordpress.com) 
Wall Street banker becomes “tech” journalist … times must be tough if he is joining the 99%.
I hope to God that was an attempt at humour!!
Sadly, that was not a joke. At least not a deliberate one.
Take a look around…..The World is full of stupid people. Even in the highest Offices of this Land. Perhaps some truth to Reincarnation…..eh? All the ‘flunkies’ keep coming back for another ‘shot’.
🙂
The Internet is a great thing. But has it’s issues. One of the worst issue is that now everyone thinks they are a journalist. Just glad we still have you around Ed! Far too many tech writers just give opinions on face value without really knowing or understanding their trade. Even some of the well respected ones seem to gloss over details too much, in turn causing stupidity to expand at uncontrollable rates. I miss the days when Tech Journalism didn’t have any drama…
Though this guy could use some journalism 101, I would not just single out the whole financial industry for his laziness. How many times do tech journalist quote one or more wall street research firms when trying to find the next big Apple product launch. This as opposed to doing their own research and investigation. I think the whole tech writing industry has gotten lazy with the exception of the old line tech journalist like Ed.