[LINK] itNews advertises NFC payment schemes

[Kim Davies]

On Aug 23, 2012, at 4:10 PM, Roger Clarke <Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au> wrote:

> [itNews has again thrown doubt on its credentials as an outlet for 
> serious IT journalism by re-publishing PR pap without the slightest 
> consideration of the broader issues.
> 
> [People are concerned about the insecurity of unauthenticated 
> NFC-based payments, and the exposure of consumers to losses through 
> error and fraud.  People are returning cards, and destroying 
> chip-functionality, and bank-tellers are having to bear the brunt as 
> consumers complain;  but itNews merely reports on the onward march to 
> a glorious technological future.]

Is it a requirement that whenever an article covers a topic, that it teach the controversy? 

If a local fast food restaurant opens up, and gets inches in the local paper, is it a requirement for the article to talk about the darker side of fast food and its link to heart disease? When the press reports a new iPhone is coming out, does each article need to remind its readers about the various controversies relating to the closed software that runs on the device, the conditions under which the device was produced, its litigation issues with Samsung and Google, and so on? 

Where is the line drawn between the requirement to educate a reader about broader issues on a topic, when simply reporting on a noteworthy event relating to that technology?

I think it is one thing if a news outlet has an overt record of unquestionably triumphing a technology and never reporting other issues, but it seems a stretch to expect every article talking about a technology to do so in order to be considered balanced. Is this a complaint about this article, or a complaint that itNews is a one-eyed NFC advocate?

FWIW, I have had contactless payment methods (RFID Paywave/Paypass, not NFC) in various credit cards of mine for about 5 years, and I've never had troubles not using it. The handful of times I've had invalid charges on my statements, I've never had a problem with the credit card company reversing the charge after a few minute phone call (or, most recently, simply marking it as an invalid charge through the bank's web interface, and filling out a brief online form.)

kim