Wesley Dyson

Disclaimer: I am not an Apple shareholder, never have been, one day hope to be.

I want to take a minute here and give some perspective on the Apple Media Reporting situation before today’s earning call.

In the last 6 months, we have seen an unprecedented media barrage against Apple. Media outlets like the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), New York Times, Bloomberg, and Forbes have been ‘reporting’ on Apple ‘news’ that consist of rumours turned fact.

Many - if not most - of these ‘reports’ are nothing more than speculation with an agenda. Here’s what happens. A rumour site posts a rumour that has no proven factual basis. These can be both in Apple’s favour or against, it really doesn’t matter. To support the Anti-Apple agenda, ‘credible’ agencies like the WSJ and NYT spin the rumours as fact into a story that slams Apple and calls out their imminent doom. They then source the article from ‘industry sources’. Sound familiar?

When enough of these ‘articles’ - I prefer ‘fiction’ - are posted over a period of time, the media furthers the rhetoric that Apple is doomed when, in fact, no factual data can be presented to support this thesis.

Why do these media outlets continue this absurd song and dance?

Because any article headline with the word “Apple” in it has been proven to get more page views than the same article without it.

The major media companies are making money from lies and bullshit.

Now, here’s the part I can’t prove, what I suspect is going on here.

Furthermore, many of these media companies are affiliated with investment banks and have associates in the industry. To put it simply, investment companies are manipulating Apple stock for their own personal gain, and they’re using the media as a catalyst.

There is no other explanation for the severe slump in Apple stock. Yes, Apple is partly at fault. They missed their target for Mac sales in the holiday quarter, mostly because they couldn’t make enough new iMacs to meet demand. However, their iPhone sales were at an all time high, they sold a record amount of iPads, and sold every iMac they could make.

Now, some will tell you that $AAPL has gone down because Apple missed its own guidance. This isn’t true. They made their guidance but did not surpass it by the margins they have in the past. This isn’t a reason to sell you shares, people! It does not mean people stopped buying iPhones, or that they intend to. They just estimated correctly. Think about that.

Apple share holders should be thrilled about Apple’s performance in the last year! The rhetoric about Apple being doomed - there is nothing out there, actual factual data, to support this. 

Beating on Apple is just the ‘in’ thing to do in 2013. It’s popular. In fact, to post an article about how Apple is doing well, there’s nothing to worry about, or to call these publishers out on their BS, is not just frowned upon, it’s uncool.

I’m sure I’ll hear from people on both sides of the argument about this post. But let me say this. I believe what’s going on between Apple and the media right now can simply be chalked down to ‘flavour of the month’. 2 years from now, the media will have another company to pick on. Everything comes and goes. For now, the best thing that Apple can do is weather the storm and carry on as business as usual. As a shareholder or reader, I suggest you do the same.