Shoot the messenger

Hilarious stuff on Groklaw today. A reader writes in to ask PJ directly if she actually took money from OSDL and says, “If true, that does look rather whiffy. … I’d like to know if there’s substance in that particular allegation.” Naturally the poster is called a “troll.” Then PJ responds with her own comment in which she doesn’t answer the question but tries to make the whole thing about me. She suggests I’ve interviewed SCO officials and its lawyers, and that during these interviews, those people have told me things. Shocking! Of course I’ve talked to SCO and its lawyers. It’s what reporters do. (And yes, I’m so deeply entwined with SCO that their latest filing they identify me as a reporter at the Wall Street Journal. Yup, that’s how tight we are.)

From this PJ goes on to imply that I have taken SCO’s side in the lawsuit. Wrong. I’ve said over and over, I don’t care how the lawsuit turns out. I’m covering it, that’s all. I’d be happy to get information from IBM and/or its lawyers, but so far they haven’t been talking to the press. (At least that’s the official policy statement I get whenever I contact them with questions. PJ, however, seems to have had a knack for obtaining IBM filings before the public gets them.)

PJ’s response is the oldest dodge in the book and it doesn’t help her credibility. When faced with a question you don’t want to answer, shoot the messenger. Create a villain. “Don’t look here, look over there! Over there! At the bad guy!” Right. She’s the one who hit her sources up for money. She’s the one who’s ducking a subpoena. But I’m the bad guy because I’m reporting this. Most galling about all this is the comments from her readers claiming that I must be on someone’s payroll. It’s insulting. But also deliciously ironic.