Bloomberg mistakenly publishes Steve Jobs obituary
An electronic gaffe at news outlet Bloomberg mistakenly sent an incomplete obituary for Apple CEO Steve Jobs over the wire on Wednesday afternoon, and a tipster promptly sent the soon-retracted file to gossip blog Gawker.
Steve Jobs at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference.
(Credit: James Martin/CNET News)The lengthy file contains not only a preliminary obituary for the iconic Apple chief, but also a list of suggested contacts for a more extensive story--Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, and early Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki, among others.
The summary of Jobs' accomplishments, per the obituary, is that he "helped make personal computers as easy to use as telephones, changed the way animated films are made, persuaded consumers to tune into digital music, and refashioned the mobile phone."
It's not out of the ordinary at all that Bloomberg would have this written; all major news outlets have notable persons' obituaries prepared in advance so that only minor changes need be made at the actual time of death. That way, the news can be reported almost immediately and can be updated with further detail.
But a Jobs obituary, however premature, is more chilling than, say, a Bill Gates obituary. The Apple CEO successfully battled pancreatic cancer earlier this decade, and a magazine profile indicated that he had kept it secret for nine months while researching alternative treatments--a questionable move for any chief executive of a publicly traded company, but especially one as crucial to the runnings of the business as Jobs is.
When Jobs appeared onstage at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2008, his thin appearance led some bloggers and company critics to speculate that he was ill again, and some of them pushed the bounds of decency in demanding that Apple reveal the state of the executive's health to shareholders.
So given a CEO whose health has been discussed so speculatively in the echo chamber of the blogosphere, and whose company's stock has been shown to be far from immune to the influence of the rumor mill, the appearance--however brief--of a Jobs obituary online must certainly have been disquieting for those who stumbled upon it.
Bloomberg released a retraction later on Wednesday that made only the vaguest of reference to the content of the gaffe. "An incomplete story referencing Apple Inc. was inadvertently published by Bloomberg News at 4:27 p.m. New York time today," the retraction read. "The item was never meant for publication and has been retracted."
Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, is a downtown Manhattanite happily addicted to social-media tools and restaurant blogs. Her pre-CNET resume includes interning at an IT security firm and brewing cappuccinos. E-mail Caroline. 
Not surprising.
That Jobs survived pancreatic cancer for 5 years is really against the odds. Generally speaking, it's rare for someone to live a year. But, if you make it through a year -- your odds are much better that you'll live through it. Ultimately, however, those that have had it ultimately have it return and succumb some day.
He survived it, even though we've long been told pancreatic and stomach cancers are the two types you can't survive.
And we've been told that shortly after diagnosis, that's it for you. You die.
But look at Patrick Swayze.
He's lived longer than anyone thought possible.
Good for them both!
Then again, maybe my dad was just an idiot for trying. :P
Grow up Leo
Sort of like Apple's history, come to think of it - the IT trade press had called Apple dead mistakenly once before, did they not?
Hmm, that DOES explain the nearly zombie-like appearance he's been displaying of late. (J/K)
No need to hate the man. I respect what he's done. He had an ideal and stood up for it. He's done a lot for the industry and helped rebuild our socieity into a new evolution of personal technology. If it weren't for people like Woz, Jobs, and Gates, we'd still be dealing with punch cards and Altairs.You may not like the person, but respect what he's helped accomplish in the world.
<http://www.tradeguider.com/gavin_webinar_files/cramer.wmv>
Kinda makes one wonder...
It was funny to read the obit though. It varied between treating him like the Pope and a court jester stumbling on his own tassels. Even funnier are all the notes to contact this or that person for an update or quote. You know, call this one girl- she dated Jobs a lot at the time.
I don't the move is questionable.
A person has a right to investigate any kind of treatment he wishes to seek. If his health deteriorated to the point where he could no longer do his job I am sure he would have stepped aside. Who is to say that a replacement would have done better - may we should ask Amelio Gilbert?
MODERATOR: You should retract all of these comments and close this article to comments.
It was an accident by Bloomberg and they corrected it as soon as they could and so should you.
I mean, come on: "MODERATOR: You should retract all of these comments and close this article to comments." Are you serious?
Bloomberg's a hack outfit. They deserve criticism. They're not real journalists.
They concentrate more on getting Obama crowned than they do on journalism.
I am not knowledgable of the specific systems Bloomberg uses, but it does not happen.
Papers have gone to print with similar errors. And back when the production process was a hell of a lot less automated.
- by Anysia August 28, 2008 6:38 PM PDT
- He should be glad it wasn't the gov't that publicly stated he was dead. Would have been next to impossible to prove otherwise. :D
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