Quoted from Aurich:

I honestly dunno what you guys want.
Stern does put together high quality press releases. This was a bunch of professionally shot photos, and a video, ready for the press. But here's how press release stuff works, you send it out ahead time to the writers. I work in the press, I used to cover Stern's announcements, here's my old article on Star Trek for instance:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/09/after-20-year-absence-star-trek-returns-to-the-world-of-pinball/
I had all those photos a few days ahead of the announcement, along with details. It gave me time to write up an article, held under embargo, until the release time. Then we're able to have a story up in a timely fashion, which is good for us, and it helps Stern with their media push. Everyone else puts up their pieces too, it's how normal business is done. I'm under no obligation to say nice things, it's not shady, the agreement is simply we get early access to not have to rush to write, in return for waiting until the released date to publish.
The problem isn't that Stern is doing a bad job, it's that they're trusting some people they clearly shouldn't. I didn't leak my photos to clout whores, I can tell you that, but someone is. If I was Stern I'd be putting in some subtle watermarks to different places and figuring out who's leaking. I won't tell you who sent them to me!
But I respect Stern too much to take their images and blow them up online like that. Whoever's leaking them doesn't respect the company, and is abusing the trust. Be annoyed with them, not Stern.

Quoted from aeonblack:

Just as I said, I want Stern to make sure they are the ones controlling the information, not a bunch of low-rent "journalists". Ars Technica, IGN, etc. are real, trusted news sources, and while they may be leaning towards a blog-style with some articles, they still maintain a journalistic integrity and generally staff people who are proven or who have at the very least gone to school for journalism and understand what "journalistic integrity" means. You talk about how you wouldn't leak stuff, and there is a reason for that. You understand the process and what it can do to a career when a source stops trusting you. But Stern doesn't seem to give a damn who leaks what, and the only people that suffer for that are the people who are actually interested in their product.
These podcasts and blogs don't carry that same attitude and responsibility and so they say and do whatever they want. I know a lot of these leaks end up coming from distros as well, and I'm yet again left wondering why it is that distro's even need to see this information before anyone else? So they can put up a product page on their websites? Be "informed"? I've never met a distro who won't take my money when I say "I want this", so it's completely moot.
I respect Stern as well, which is why I give a damn.