May 27, 2010

Forbes takes on Gladwell

Gary Eckstein World 0 author, forbes, Gladwell, malcolm gladwell, media, media organizations, new yorker magazine

Growing up in South Africa had its benefits; one was gaining the knowledge to be wary of news when the state interfered in what could be reported. Unfortunately it was also true that the ‘free’ and oft considered reputable media was very much biased. Of course bias was, and is, not true of all media organizations however it was enlightening to watch, listen to and read what are still considered reliable media organizations report false generalisations and untruths.

Whilst the recent ‘Why Malcolm Gladwell is Wrong’ by Avik Roy in Forbes is certainly biased and misrepresents what was written in ‘The Treatment’ by Gladwell (in The New Yorker Magazine), it cannot be likened to some of the extremely subjective reporting in South Africa in the 1980s. Why however does Forbes feel the need to blatantly misrepresent information with such misguided opinion as is contained in the story by Roy? One would expect that a reputable media outlet such as Forbes should be more objective.