I was just watching CNBC and was amazed at how the media are like a pack of hungry wolves, all over the story that ran today about Steve Jobs taking a major leave of absence due to his current health situation. I actually shared the info in our Community about Jobs being ill about two weeks ago when I spotted an article on a science news site. At the time, it was reported that he had a hormone-related illness and he would simply not be speaking at a conference. Today, the news is much more serious, and the photos of him are shocking. He looks like a living skeleton. Apparently he had a rare form of pancreatic cancer a few years ago and underwent surgery for it. This is news to many.
Members of the media are attacking Jobs and Apple's public relations department for not 'fessing up to Jobs' illness. And I mean attacking. They were brutal on CNBC this evening.... saying that their p.r. sources outright lied to them about Jobs' condition, and that Jobs was doing a "strip tease" in parceling out small bits of info about his health at a time. And that there has been a conspiracy going on to hide Jobs' health crisis in order to protect Apple's financial status.
It makes me wonder where we draw the line between the personal and the private when it comes to our health. Sure, Jobs is like a celebrity in the tech and financial world and sits at the helm of a major company. But it's not like he's the president of a country. It seems to me that the media is seriously overreacting and not allowing him the privacy he deserves.
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The real issue is the media trying to make a story bigger/edgier than it has to be.
January 16, 2009 - 9:58amThis Comment
This is a tough issue.
As a private person, Steve Jobs has a right to his privacy.
As the CEO of a public company, he is legally required to share any information which will materially impact the future of the business as soon as he knows about it. The Board of Directors is also held to this standard. This is not only a civil legal matter but potentially criminal, depending on situation.
Apple is a unique beast in that Steve Jobs IS Apple to many people - and a lot of the investment community.
Apple without him is seen by these people as worth a lot less than with him.
So, I think there is a real issue - but the media handling of it is a whole other issue.
January 15, 2009 - 2:29pmThis Comment
Kristin, I've found myself thinking about this a lot lately too, especially in the last 24 hours or so after I learned he was taking a leave of absence. I didn't see CNBC like you did, but even from reading print reports it is obvious that there are passionate, even angry responses to the fact that he is keeping his health situation as private as he can.
The business community and the stock market clearly believe that Apple without Steve Jobs is a completely different animal than Apple with Steve Jobs. While that's very complimentary to him, it also puts even extra pressure on him to be there, in all ways and at all times. That stress can't be good for anyone recovering from anything.
When you have a company on the stock market, when you are a CEO, must you be forthcoming with private health information? If you confide in your board of directors and upper managers -- who are, after all, the ones at the helm of the ship -- must you release the information publicly? Do you own that to a stockholder?
The media is an interesting beast right now. And I say that after having spent more than 20 years working at newspapers. Because of the internet, and the flurry of competing news services, talk shows and even bloggers, the race to be "first" with a story has eclipsed even the race to be accurate. There is no actual "news cycle" right now to speak of, with 24-hour cable news networks and web sites. News almost breaks in a viral manner, and television reporters especially seem to report first, adjust later. I have even heard, on occasion, a news reporter say that a story cannot be confirmed. Well, then don't run it!
January 15, 2009 - 9:47amThis Comment