If there’s one thing that can be said of Bill Weir, it’s that he’s an honest guy when it comes to his ABC News blog.

The ABC News reporter was recently invited by Apple, Inc. on a tour of the company’s Chinese factories owned and operated by Foxconn, which has come under fire lately for labor and human rights issues that were brought to light by a New York Times article and an episode of the PRI program “This American Life.”

Since January, Apple has tried hard to repair its image — from shunning the New York Times piece, to instructing a non-profit labor group to begin inspecting working conditions at the Foxconn factories in China where iPhones, iPads and other Apple devices are manufactured.

Now, Apple’s taken their image-repair strategy another step: By extending an invitation to ABC’s Nightline to tour a Foxconn factory during an audit by the Fair Labor Association.

As Weir speculates, there may have been a few reasons why Nightline was hand-picked by Apple over other news magazine programs including 60 Minutes and Rock Center:

• Weir admits in his ABC News blog that he’s said positive things about Apple products in the past.

• The network that broadcasts Nightline, ABC, is owned by the Walt Disney Corporation. The CEO of the Walt Disney Corporation is Bob Iger, who serves on Apple’s Board of Directors.

• Steve Jobs had his hand in the development and operations of Emeryville, Calif.-based Pixar Animation Studios, which is now owned by the Walt Disney Corporation; The Steve Jobs Trust is Disney’s largest shareholder.

Could those three things present a possible conflict of interest? Will ABC’s reporting on conditions at Foxconn be balanced, fair and objective?

ABC’s motto is “See the Whole Picture” — we’ll have to tune in to our local ABC affiliate at 11:35 p.m. Tuesday to see if Weir delivers.

Click here to read Weir’s blog entry in full on ABCNews.com

(Full disclosure: The author of this blog was previously employed in an editorial position by the Disney-ABC Television Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company)

According to a new infographic that’s floating around, consumers are turning to social media just about as much as they are visiting dedicated websites for sports information.

The infographic, published by GMR Marketing, finds 41% of people surveyed visited social platforms like Twitter and Facebook for breaking sports news compared to 40% that still visit dedicated sports news websites.

(GMR Marketing)

Lumped together, online platforms make up over 80% of sports news consumption, compared to 13% of fans heading for the tube and 4% tuning in to sports radio.

It’s not clear if the survey included sports brands, like ESPN and CBS Sports, into their social and online factoring, but Vox’s SB Nation is just one of many online-only platforms that is gaining traction among sports enthusiasts — a platform that, unlike ESPN or CBS, has its full focus on the ‘net.

What’s attributing to social’s preferential rise among sports consumers over traditional media?

Two factors are likely at play: The frequency and speed at which sports news — or any news, for that matter — breaks online, and the elimination of the middleman (think reporters, anchors, columnists) that stand between the audience and the players. Social is providing a platform for fans to interact with athletes beyond the allotted sixty minutes that any call-in radio or television program might.

Click here to view the full infographic.

From Twitter:

I think Michelle Obama wins this one.