NBC “Today” show tech editor Corey Greenberg has admitted to charging $15,000 to Apple and other companies to talk about their products on television, reports the Washington Post. In July, Greenberg praised the iPod on the show, saying it was “a great portable musical player… the coolest-looking one.” He said, “This is the way to go.” Greenberg has also appeared several times on CNBC touting Apple products including the iPod photo.
However, Greenberg says he was never paid to promote products on national TV — only local news. “I have never accepted payment to place a product on NBC News,” Greenberg says. “I have never accepted payment to say nice things about a product in any venue.” He says companies hired him as “a spokesperson who could talk credibly and understandably about consumer products,” but that he would no longer accept payment for appearances on local news shows.
The financial relationships Greenberg and another man, Child magazine’s Technology Editor James Oppenheim, separately have with companies was first reported yesterday by the Wall Street Journal, as noted by iLounge Backstage. Further details about the dealings can be found in that article.