Why Does Everyone Love Apple?

Funny but thought-provoking discussion on NPR's On the Media about Apple's (AAPL) ability to cloud reporters' minds and turn them into unpaid Apple flacks. The case in recent point, of course, is the over-the-top front-page treatment for the iPhone:

BOB GARFIELD: You actually write a column devoted to the whole idea that Apple isn't so much a company as a cult with a ticker symbol. How does a company achieve this status? Is it because they're masters of presentation, or just because they consistently deliver the goods?

PETE MORTENSON: It's all of the above, and it's also a third piece, which is that they're massively secretive. So essentially they tend to let journalists, pundits and their fans do all of their P.R. for them. I'm told that neither Google (GOOG) nor Yahoo (YHOO), who worked intimately on software for the iPhone, ever saw it until Jobs introduced it.

I still wasn't convinced there was going to be an iPhone, and if there hadn't been, I think you would have seen Apple's stock plummet yesterday. But because there was, the entire world went nuts with acclaim.

BOB GARFIELD: In the end, this is really — it's a business story. Even Enron had a hard time finding its way to page one. Do you find yourself marveling at how the mainstream press can get so completely hooked?

PETE MORTENSON: I do to a certain extent, but I also think that the fascination is a very simple one. Apple is one of a handful of American companies that is still looked at as the leader in its field. For numerous other fields, companies in Asia and Europe are out in front, so when Apple, started by a pair of good American boys, gets up and does something that really knocks back those kinds of competitors, Americans are out of their seat. It's an amazing story.

Comments

[Julian Ivan...:]

People love Apple because they produce great products that they enjoy using. Its as simple as that. Investors love AAPL because its growing earnings 30-40% YoY, and has risen 1200% in 6 years. Its as simple as that.

What's hard to understand? Only reporters' ignorance and sheer stupidity.

2007 Jan 18 09:04 AM

[Shira Jacobson:]

Tommo, did you read the article? He wasn't disputing Apple's greatness, only pointing out that it has become a cult classic.

2007 Jan 18 09:22 AM

[Tom B:]

Steve Jobs does a fantastic job presenting new products, but this "cult" stuff is nonsense. When Apple ships a bad product, we "cultists" pan it mercilessly.

The question is really backwards; the real question is why does MSFT continue to print money like the US Treasury in spite of a 25-ish year history of being unable to deliver even ONE half-way decent product (except, perhaps, for the Xbox, which loses money).

2007 Jan 18 10:44 AM

[Julian Ivan...:]

Shira, I wasn't criticising Kedrosky's article - just pointing out the obvious answers to the question :)

As Thomas points out, it isn't a question of "cult" - unless 20% of the entire US population is a member of this "cult" . Did you know that 20% of all Americans now own an Apple product - iPod or Mac? That's not called a cult. That's called success. You want an example of a cult? That would be DELL investors, still yearning for the days when their company was delivering 40% YoY earnings growth like AAPL.

2007 Jan 18 12:35 PM

[stefn:]

Added to the reasons for the mainstream media's fascination with Apple, I wonder if it isn't partly gratitude. Back in the eighties, when the Mac arrived, it transformed the jobs and maybe careers of journalists and editors by offering them professional tools that not only increased their productivity but also their perceived value as something more than pencil pushers.

2007 Jan 18 09:59 PM

[Jon T:]

The suggestions of a "cult" are an attempt to disparage what others see as the 'unfair advantage' of Apple; ie its growing number of satisfied and loyal customers.

The volume of press Apple gets is in direct proportion to the interest its products have with the general public. Or perhaps some competitors would like to suggest the press are also secret 'cultists'?

2007 Jan 24 11:00 AM