Evan Hessel and Dorothy Pomerantz have this piece in the latest Forbes magazine entitled "The People Vs. Comcast." And it's none too flattering.
The article basically accuses the nation's top cable company of all kinds of corporate greed and behind-the-scenes manipulation of government policy, reserving a lot of its enmity for CEO Brian Roberts personally. Here's a passage:
The younger Roberts [Brian Roberts' father, Ralph Roberts, founded the company] tightly restricts what his subscribers can and cannot do. Like other cable chiefs, Roberts insists his customers buy TV channels in bulk, not individually. He led a behind-the-scenes battle to prevent cable subscribers from getting their hands on souped-up set-top boxes designed by other companies. And Comcast recently began interfering with customers' use of Internet peer-to-peer programs.
The article claims that regulators and customers "screamed in protest" against each of the above misdeeds. The Consumer Electronics Association CEO Gary Shapiro is quoted as saying that Brian Roberts is like England's Henry VIII. (So far as I know, Roberts hasn't beheaded any of his wives yet.)
However, "rebellion is afoot," according to the article, because the Internet, "with stunning speed" is swiping viewers away from the TV set, "stripping power from Roberts and handing it to his customers."
Seriously, what is this? I'm no apologist for Comcast, but Hessel and Pomerantz don't even try to disguise their disdain for the company, and Roberts specifically. What did Comcast do to p*ss off the Forbes people? Refuse to include the pub in an embargoed announcement? Is there bad blood between the Roberts and Forbes families?
I admit it's kind of fun to read an article by mainstream journalists that doesn't even attempt objective reporting or rational analysis. But this piece should really be labeled "analysis" or "opinion" and as far as I can tell on the Forbes.com site, it's offered as a feature article.
Cynthia Brumfield at 1:36 PM|Comments(0)
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