How Steve Jobs’ obit got published
The first rule of publishing is that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. (A corollary favored at Time Magazine, where I labored for nearly three decades, is that all copy is guilty until proved otherwise.)
None of this excuses, but it does help explain, how Bloomberg News managed to publish an obituary on Wednesday afternoon of Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs, who is still quite alive.
Advance work on famous figures’ obits is nothing new, and given Jobs’ well-publicized brush with pancreatic cancer four years ago and recent concerns about his weight loss, it’s understandable that Bloomberg might choose this moment to update its piece on Jobs, although the version that got published contains no details about his health that weren’t already in the public record.
According to a Bloomberg spokesperson, however, it was a routine update of the kind regularly performed by the obit department.
The story — which ran under the byline Connie Guglielmo and the headline “Steve Jobs, Apple Co-Founder, Arbitrator of Cool Technology, XXXX” (the X’s to be filled in with his age at death) — was marked “HOLD FOR RELEASE — DO NOT USE — HOLD FOR RELEASE — DO NOT USE.” But even that didn’t stop it from getting out. It should have been sent to Bloomberg’s internal wire, but instead it moved on the external wire that carried it to Bloomberg subscribers. The file was pulled within 30 seconds, according to Bloomberg PR, and the following retraction issued:
Story Referencing Apple Was Sent in Error by Bloomberg News
Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) — An incomplete story referencing Apple
Inc. was inadvertently published by Bloomberg News at 4:27 p.m.
New York time today. The item was never meant for publication and
has been retracted.—Editor: Joe Winski, Cesca Antonelli
But another rule of publishing is that once the cat is out of the bag, you can rarely stuff her back in. And sure enough, a copy of the 17-page story, complete with notes and sources, fell into the hands of Gawker’s Ryan Tate, who gleefully posted what Bloomberg had hoped would be quickly forgotten. You can read it here, if you’re into that kind of thing.
Although long obituaries have fallen out of favor at the major newsmagazines, it’s still standard practice to prepare obits of famous people well before they die. Perhaps the most famous practitioners of this macabre trade are the writers who do it for the New York Times. Alden Whitman, since deceased, was a master of the genre. Before penning their death notices, he often conducted long interviews with his subjects, who knew him as “the ghoul.”
Almost more interesting than Steve Jobs’ Bloomberg obituary is the list of “people to contact for comment” that is attached to it. These include, in addition to ex-colleagues such as Steve Wozniak, Jon Rubenstein and Mike Markkula, such marquee names as Al Gore, Bill Gates and Jerry Brown, as well as Jobs’ ex-girlfriend Heidi Roizen, who is described as “a venture capitalist who once dated Jobs [phone numbers redacted]. Heidi knows a lot of Silicon Valley insiders and may put us in touch with others.”
There’s a long history of untimely obits. Two of the most famous are Alfred Nobel’s (being characterized as the “merchant of death” is said to have inspired him to create the Nobel Prizes) and Mark Twain’s (”The reports of my death,” he told a reporter after it appeared, “are greatly exaggerated.”) An article on “premature obituaries” in Wikipedia lists 10 reasons for such occurrences — along with “brush with death” and “name confusion” is “pressing the wrong button.”
It happens. In April 2003, CNN inadvertently published draft tributes to several luminaries, including Fidel Castro, Dick Cheney, Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II and Ronald Reagan. The last two have since departed, but the rest, like Steve Jobs, are still living.
Peter, Boston, MA.
ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DO THIS;
“I am removing any periodicals and websites associated with organization from my computer.”
The results may be unorganized.
someone should let the Bloomberg folks know that in proofing the article, they’ll want to fix the part that says “who’s tyranny” (should be whose)..
Very well written. An article titled “How Steve Jobs’ obit got published” which in no detail explains how Steve Jobs’ obit was published. Fascinating as always, Fortune.
ex ped: There wasn’t much detail to report. According to Bloomberg PR: “…It should have been sent to Bloomberg’s internal wire, but instead it moved on the external wire that carried it to Bloomberg subscribers.”
Steve … great knowing you. Lets go get a beer … you buy. (cracking up)
Fidel is not dead, he is hiding with Osama Bin Laden in a cave in Pakistan. ARod should go hide there too, because he never comes up clutch…oh wait, that’s for a different blog.
CNN and other orgs have what’s called a “dead file.” Those notes complete with phone numbers and contacts are ALWAYS there. I remember reading CNN’s dead file for both the pope and Reagan. What astounded me was that I could (as an employee) see phone numbers of senators, celebrities and other dignitaries through an unrestricted posting in the iNews system. It doesn’t shock me that other orgs keep dead files either. Planning for the unexpected is what makes news orgs stand apart when the unexpected does actually occur.
Who is really cares! I see at this point too many posts about Fidel and the others.
I see that many of us can’t really read and understand this article correctly. The author isn’t really said that Castro is dead. Read it carefully one more time.
How does this affect my life? Oh yeah, it dosen’t. Am I in the will? If not, nevermind.
Nice that they have four X’s as placeholders for the age at death…you know, just in case they live 1000 years or more. Look at Methuselah, you’ve got some competition.
Thanks for my chuckle of the day, Fortune. If I saw my own obit, I’d probably clip it and take it to the paper’s office, claiming I’d come back to haunt them. :) I would especially do it if it were my local paper, since I used to work for the department that sent the pages to the press!
Of course, it’s all funny unless the *government* thinks you’re dead. I’ve read the horror stories of those who had to prove they were still alive…
I remember when Pope John Paul II die, CNN Posted a breaking news signed saying that reports said that he had passed. I went crazy trying to confirm it in other websites but none had it.
After a couple of minutes, CNN removed the banner.
I think breaking news can have some mistakes but publishing an orbit for someone who hasn’t died is different and the employee should be fired. IMO
FYI: celebrities get their obits for free because it’s news; the rest of us (or at least our survivors) will have to pay by the column inch because that is standard (not exclusive) newspaper practice. … To those who wrote “who cares?” — Many readers care about/are obsessed with celebrities; how else do you explain the success of tabloid journalism? … Some of the humorous comments were precious!
Obituaries are another example of Western hegemony. But that said, I’d like to know what mine might say. If I spin it right, well, who knows?
O.B.L.
1 obit mistakenly posted and 1 sort of funny Dick Cheney joke turned this actually into a humorous bit, showing how people dont pay attention. I think some of the people who posted need to be checked for alzhiemers.
I like the explanation in the Wikipedia article: “pressing the wrong button.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a simple, mundane e-mail request intended for a single department inadvertently distributed to the mailing list “ALL STAFF” — and where I work, that’s 3,000 people. It’s easy to see how some version of this could happen with obits at a major publication, and while it’s inexcusable, it’s still slightly amusing.
I’ve sometimes wondered if some of those people CNN accidently mourned all those years ago remain alive today out of spite.
Hmmm, first of all why fight over who’s alive or dead. We could argue that most political figures are dead from the neck up anyway, not to mention they don’t care what you think, they have all the money and keep getting richer off the backs of other peoples hard work. Of Course Steve Jobs isn’t a political figure.
He’s not getting rich off the hard work of others in any such way.
Thanks for all of your comments. I just had the greatest laugh reading this stuff.
An embarrassing error for sure, and likely went through several pairs of eyes/fingers.
My question is, who cares about obits anyway? Everyone dies. Thousands die every day. Why do they all need to be published? The people who need to know will very likely find out anyway. The rest of us, who never knew the person, don’t care…
If you’re finding out your best friend died by reading the obits, I would question whether you were really friends or not.
very nice on CNN’s part admitting having done the same error in the past.
yeah didnt you hear? dick cheney and fidel went on a hunting trip together, and cheney accidentally blasted his head off with a shotgun. Ronald reagan and the pope john paul are going to speak at his funeral, don’t ya know
Lacking all else, one at least gets to see what’s being said after ones alleged departure.
Good point. How do I know if Castro is dead? Its been a while since we last spoke.
I am not sure if the author of this article says that Fidel is listed as died person. It looks more that Fidel is alive.
This is a very interesting article. But as I know, Dick Cheney and Fidel is still alive
When did Castro die? I knew he was sick, so it’s not surprising, though.u
Ex ped: He’s not dead.
Just to clarify, Dick Cheney is actually undead.
these comments are turning into the children’s game…the telephone game….where everyone is misreading everyone else’s comments and then adding their own misunderstood comment.
clarity:
the argument is not on the article itself…it clearly states castro is alive. but it’s on the comment of a reader who apparently thinks he is dead. not the other way around.
and i agree…who cares anyways?
steve jobs is laughing all the way to the bank. while the rest of us poor schmucks are sitting around waiting for our turn to come and therefore we have nothing better to do then post silly comments.
Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.
It’s true that many people are unable to read and process information correctly; many others can’t manage to write or spell. Steve from NY wrote “alterior” instead of “ulterior” motives. (sigh)
It’s truly amazing to me how many people actually think the author said Castro is dead. It’s no wonder this country is falling behind the rest of the world, most of us are still reading at a first grade level!
Peter from Boston:
Take a pill and relax. Every respectable news publication has pre-written obits. It’s not poor taste, it’s a compliment! Imagine being important enough to warrant such treatment!
I find your premature comments on the “demise” of Steve Jobs to be a travesty and in such poor taste that I am removing any periodicals and websites associated with organization from my computer.
Hello? Idiots? Read the first comment carefully. jcr was not questioning whether or not Castro was or was not alive. He was asking why the article lists him as a “luminary,” which means a guiding figure and has almost nothing to do with this article.
Hilarious that this comment section has turned into a debate over whether or not Fidel is dead, and whether or not the article implied this.
Especially when Dick Cheney and Nelson Mandela are clearly dead! They are dead! and meanwhile, JPII and Ronald Reagan are still alive!! haha, just wanted to stir the pot…
Since when is Fidel Castro a “luminary”? The man is a thug.
-jcr
The article did not say Fidel is dead! It said Pope John and Reagan are dead. Do your own homework before mis-quoting!!!
I don’t understand the last few postings. The author of the article clearly listed Fidel as among the living. Am I misreading something?
Pleas learn to read before making a comment:
It happens. In April 2003, CNN inadvertently published draft tributes to several luminaries, including Fidel Castro, Dick Cheney, Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II and Ronald Reagan. The last two have since departed, but the rest, like Steve Jobs, are still living.
“The last two have since departed, but the rest, like Steve Jobs, are still living.”
The above statement says that Pope John Paul II and Ronald Reagan are dead and Steve Jobs and the rest are alive.
Ummm, the article said the Last two were dead, ie Reagan and Pope John Paul, the others were still alive including Castro.
Read the last paragraph again, everyone.
The writer makes it clear that Fidel Castro is still alive, along with Dick Cheney and Nelson Mandela.
ex ped: It was a reader — not the author — who suggested that Fidel was dead. That’s what “everyone” is talking about.
Apparently some people’s ability to read is greatly exaggerated. The article doesn’t state that Castro is dead merely that someone had prematurely published an obit for him. The last two in the list of mis-published are Pope John Paul II and Ronald Reagan. Both of those ARE deceased now.
Um, Fidel Castro is not dead, people. He retired from office in February 2008, but certainly not dead. Do your homework!
Fidel Castro is still alive, he’s just not President of Cuba anymore.
Sal, NY & Dan, MI
Your reports of Castro’s death are greatly exaggerated… he recently commented on the bad officiating in the Beijing Olympics.
::sigh:: I guess this proves the author’s point about premature postings/publishing.
More examples of how isolated many Americans are: some don’t even know that Fidel Castro is still alive! Is this the Jaywalk Superstars?
Shouldn’t we have a competency test of current events, names, etc before people are even allowed to vote? Democracy assumes voters are making an informed decision and we can very well see it’s otherwise.
The country isn’t suffering because of bad leaders, it’s the bad, uneducated voters that put and leave those ‘leaders’ there. Suck up your own part of the blame.
Wow – Steve from NY,NY – Get up on the wrong side of the bed today? It was a mistake. Things like this make life interesting. It gives us opertunities – like the quote from Mark Twain.
IF someone published my obituary and I was alive…and it was an accident.
I would sue them!! and win.
That’s just bad karma.
Makes you wonder if Mr. Jobs read it. Would you read your own? Creepy.
Philip Elmer-DeWitt,
Fidel Castro is dead, in case you haven’t heard!!!
ex ped: Who told you that, Elvis?
the staffer who did commit this “error” should first be fired, then blackballed so as to never get a job in the business again. the first rule of true journalism is to check your sources/facts, then check them again. this is shameful, and clearly more than a slip-up…alterior motives of some kind were definitely in play here.
Reference the very end of this article. Isn’t Fidel Castro dead also? (I guess the error can go both ways!)
ex ped: Fidel is still alive.
You might check the staffer that made this “error”! Any chance they were Short Apple Stock?
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Silicon Valley veterans like to joke that Steve Jobs must be surrounded by a reality distortion field; if you get too close to him, you start to believe what he's saying. Thanks to the success of the iPod, the launch of the iPhone and the renewed interest in the Mac, Apple has made believers out of millions of customers - and made a lot of investors rich. But Philip Elmer-DeWitt believes that an ounce of skepticism never hurts when writing about the company. He should know. He's been covering Apple - and watching Steve Jobs operate - since 1982, first for Time Magazine, then for Business 2.0, and now for Fortune.
Just wondering if anyone has an estimate of how much money was lost and made as some sold, God bless these simple folk who keep driving the price of stocks down so others can buy, buy, buy, making more money, especially from a solid high value company like Apple. Thank you fearful “fools” whose strategy is upside down and backwards. Maybe they keep score and feel great when in any year they losses are smaller.