Jobs: Mean bastard or misunderstood genius? (Or both?)
Dan Gillmor on Grassroots Journalism, Etc.: — I don’t use a Mac and haven’t done more than chide Steve “Barbie” Jobs over the years. I sure have never personally accused him of anything when I did not know the facts. I do know that “Apple” was somehow behind the banning of the Wiley books. But I do not know that Jobs made this decision and never said he did. That said I’d have to ask the Mac-loving uber-bloggers where they get the idea that Jobs was the culprit and not some apparatchek in the company. I now ask this since an inside source has informed me that it was indeed an apparatchek and nobody at Apple is happy about it.
I only mention this because it is this same little uber-blogger clique that is telling us about how bloggers are so superior to “real journalists” but then I read these rants that have no foundation.
From Gllmor’s blog:
Today’s New York Times has a story about Steve Jobs’ decision — an arrogant and counterproductive move, in my view — to ban sales of all books from a publisher that is releasing a new biography about Apple’s Ruler Supreme. The article includes a quote from Mitchell Kertzman. (Note: He’s a friend.) I was a bit surprised by the quote, and asked him about it in an e-mail. He said it was out of context. I asked him if he’d like to explain why in a posting here, and he agreed.
So who can actually back uo this assertion that this was Steve Job’s decision? A quote would be useful. A public statement. Anything. Or is this just a wild guess?
