Mike Z.’s Quote of the Day

Mark Evans,

Your hatred towards Nortel is so obvious that one couldn’t miss it even if s/he tries real hard.

Not only do you go around like a Vacuum Cleaner – collecting all the shit and dirt you could find about Nortel, but the titles of your articles (that supposed to be non-biased) reflect your inner-contempt for Nortel, it’s managers and vast number of dedicated workers.

E.g. – your recent title of “Wi-Max Dreams” says a lot about your negative attitude. I don’t expect to read anything positive from you, which concerns Nortel (because even if you found a positive piece of news – and there is a lot going around these days, trust me), your inner-hatred would mentally force you to erase it from your mind, and your pen would never let it see the light of day.

You could have reported what Light Reading had to say about Nortel’s Wi-Max strategy, but in your biased title you already tried to kill Nortel’s future Wi-Max plans and influence the readers’ mind even before they had a chance to read the content of your article.

Nice try Mr. Evans – from your perspective. Obviously – you are a reporter with an agenda – one of trying to destroy Nortel and its people.

It’s not going to work for you, Mark Evans. Sooner or later, in spite of your biased and so-full-of poison articles and their misleading titles, investors would learn to realize and appreciate Nortel’s true value and the only thing that your inner-hatred and contempt would succeed in destroying shall be YOU YOURSELF.

This is JMHO, but I honestly believe that I am very correct with my observation about you.

Maximus

I’ve been following all Nortel related news over the past few years, and I have to agree completely with the comments made by Maximus.

It’s soooo easy to report on the negative side in order to attract attention that it’s almost cowardly.

Too bad you can’t see yourself in the true light, Mark.

Lance

Why execute the bearer of bad news?

To accuse an acclaimed, highly respected, and extremely ethical business journalist of bias is unfounded, unfair, and unethical.

The very fact Mark allowed your post shows the degree of objectivity that runs totally contrary to such vulgar and rude claim.

The most objective and honest truth in is best light is bad news. This is evident by their financials and ongoing stock lows. This struggling company hasn’t seem a red cent for a decade. So what’s the good news?

Hiding the truth by definition is dishonest, do you not think. What are you asking for?

Do you honestly believe Nortel is in such great shape to have an abundance of positive news that is being overlooked? If so simply substantiate it. Enlighten us than mere unsubstantiated personal attacks.

While you are at it, be honest, disclose your vested interest or why you feel the way you do, contrary to facts, news, events every one else seem to deem as newsworthy or the very truth.

Just re-read your rude post, enough to make anyone civil vomit. Sounds like you need some serious therapy and I am not joking or trying to be insulting. I hope you benefit from this advice. Otherwise, shame and an apology is in order for such rude, unfounded, and bizzare accusations which Mark dismissed humbly and with with class.

I respect the liberties to exchange information and views freely here. Needless to say, I totally disagree and disrespect your opinion, or those holding a vested interest in this stock for the love of money conveying false and misleading information, and substantiate exactly why.

Maximus,

There is something people call “train wreck effect”. Nortel obviously did in fact derail, multiple times and in a very spectacular way.
Mark is clearly fascinated with that, as are many other train wreck watchers. It’s all just human nature.
I’m not sure if you can call his feelings hatred, but he is clearly biased because of his fascination.
This is the difference between professional reporting and blogging.
Although many supposed professionals (think Herb Greenberg for example) are also have the same kind of emotional attachment.
Some take it to the next level (think Cramer) and try to make entertainment out of it.

Having said all that, you have to admit that while many reporters were giving nortel “high fives” and brushing off most of the negativity, Mark wasn’t doing that.
Maybe he was just lucky, but maybe not. Maybe he saw nortel for what it was. Maybe he could have helped someone to avoid a bad investment.
You have to give him the benefit of the doubt.
And maybe, just maybe, Nortel is still not the place to put your money. Maybe Mark could still help someone like me realize that. Just a thought.
What we need is a variety of opinions from all sides. Of course most of those who opine will think they are not biased, but that’s OK.

Maximus,

You are guilty of shooting the messenger.

IMO the credence given to nortel criticism and the frustration expressed by employees is a direct result of nortel failing to deal publicly and privately with its indiscretions and bad choices (including those under Mr. Zafirovski and his overcompensated leadership team).

My friends at nortel have been working very hard to make things better despite the lack of direction. I think that the recent focus on 4G is good, but this strategy is likely to make nortel even smaller with less chance of a profit in the immediate 2-3 year future. At the very least now there is a “vision” and a direction, something the employees that remain can finally focus on with some modicum of security.

Still, nortel is a tough sell from a morale perspective to be sure.

Personally, I hope nortel succeeds and prospers, but you have to admit it is hard to be optimistic about what has been done vs. what has been said over the last two years. Upper management keeps making exorbitant salaries clearly not based on nortel’s performance, while people who have worked very hard there keep losing their jobs. Those who are left have to pick up the pieces and slog on. No one in authority ever takes responsibility for the results. Customers are less than happy because of the time it takes to get anything done. Many new (cheaper?) employees in the field and offshore support that show a painful lack of knowledge about their customers, nortel’s products and networking in general. Customer facing employees that do understand what they are doing are few and far between and consequently the customer experience is very uneven. Many people who I respect have left nortel out of sheer frustration and exhaustion.

In a nutshell, nortel looks and behaves today very much the way it has behaved over the past 10-15 years.

Additionally, the fact that nortel stock is pretty diluted (even after a 1-10 reverse split) that there is still a great deal of profit to be made by those manipulating fear and greed. Nortel added another 63 million shares to the dilution Q207, this is probably the fundamental reason the stock is now below the pre-reverse split price and increasingly volatile.

I have never felt that criticism without providing a suggested solution is productive. If you search my posts on the subject, you will find I try to live that conviction, but I also will not apologize for asking hard questions and pointing out hypocrisy and bullsh*t especially when to comes form those who are being handsomely rewarded for mediocre leadership.

I am still confident that nortel has the talent and will slowly overcome all of this. Nortel employees, while being talented are also strongly opinionated and without that strong leadership, they tend to “freelance” finding their own direction. Nortel just needs a very dynamic and strongly committed executive to show the way, making sure everybody is pulling in the same direction. IMO it does not have that particular talent where it needs it most.

Mark,

While I wouldn’t go nearly as far over the top as Maximus, sometimes your editorial comments don’t come off as completely unbiased. It was only a few weeks ago you posted

“One week, Nortel CEO Mike Zafirovski is nominated by U.S. president George Bush to an IT advisory committee, the next week Nortel wins a 10-year contract worth as much as $300-million from the U.S. Social Security Administration. You be the judge: coincidence or is there a pork belly-ish connection?”

This is not an unbiased “just presenting the facts” comment. It insinuates secret backroom deals and other unsavory actions without any details or facts to support it.

Anyways just my observation.