Fake Steve Jobs Battles CNBC's Jim Goldman (VIDEO)

Newsweek tech columnist Dan Lyons, widely known as "Fake Steve Jobs," appeared on CNBC Wednesday night to discuss Steve Jobs' health news and ripped apart CNBC Silicon Valley bureau chief Jim Goldman.

Goldman, who has been lampooned by the tech blog circuit following his reports over the last several weeks that Jobs' health was not in jeopardy, asserted Wednesday that he was not duped by his sources.

"You ever have a girlfriend who cheats on you, but she doesn't tell you right away, and she sort of tells you, 'Well, I work late'? And then, 'Well I did go to dinner with this guy, and well we did kind of make out in the car'?" Lyons asked. "I think it's like that."

Lyons then accused Goldman of sucking up for access to the company.

"There are two kinds of reporters who cover Apple," he said. "The kind who realize they're getting snowed and they're getting bullied and they're getting blocked out, and realize that a lot of what they're being told is not true. And the other kind who suck up to get access and end up getting played and punked, like your Valley bureau chief has been played and punked by Apple...you should apoloize to your viewers for having gotten it so wrong."

A cable-news-style shoutfest then found its way to CNBC:

Silicon Alley Insider's Dan Frommer reports that Lyons has been banned for life from appearing on CNBC again. CNBC says there is "no truth whatsoever" to this claim.

Correction: An earlier headline incorrectly stated that Lyons battled CNBC's Kevin Goldman. The CNBC Silicon Valley bureau chief is named Jim Goldman. Kevin Goldman is CNBC's Vice President of Media Relations.

Comments

[Rule Of Law]

Geez, did Newsweek's Lyons ever hold his own political reporters to the same stringent requirements over the last eight years of sleeping with the enemy that he is trying to impose on this one reporter? Or was it ok that Newsweek and every other paper and form of media in this country basically took it in the nether regions everyday to get close to the Bush White House and help spread their lies?

[seker]

oye! he totally got punked!
my father died from pancreatic cancer and it went in to his liver- sound familiar? if he is exploring getting a liver transplant- which by the way is really difficult to get a match and it dangerous for both the donor and the recipient then he is on his last hurrah here kids- the telltale sign will be when he starts to turn yellow- then we'll really know its hit his liver which will be his death knell... i'd give him 2-3 months tops unless he pushes aside some one else on the "list" for a new liver which still may not save him.. apple needs to come clean about the his situation as he is a dead man walking

[LetsGetDumbAmerica]

Dan Lyons "Apple never had any credibility to begin with"

THANK YOU. This is so true. Apple products run on hype and an enthusiastic core audience. Take away that and their products would not do as well as they do. There IS some innovation there but not enough to justify their inflated prices and company conduct.

[davidhilton1]

do u have a mac?

[newunderground]

HELL NO.
Do havean Ipod though.

[moveleft]

Good to see you living up to your screen name.

[GreatFutureForAll]

The problem with CNBC is that it's still in the Reagan era in terms of it's presentation and content:

1. No African-American men (ONE African-American woman that is never allowed to voice her opinion).
2. No diversity of opinion on financial matters other than Reaganomics.
3. The same faces that were there when the channel started are still there today.
4. The same guests are always invited back when something big happens.
5. Men screaming over themselves which gives a viewer the impression of midtown Manhattan size egos; a self importance large enough to replace the Twin Towers.

The growing popularity of competitor Bloomberg News is due to it's readiness to enter the Obama era in terms of it's presentation and content:

1. African-American men and women (BOTH) are part of their reporting staff.
2. Diverse, unemotional opinions on financial matters.
3. They have a wide variety of guests (some that I've never heard of before).
4. They never shout at each other, which gives the investor the impression that they are thinking things through rather than getting emotional about business matters.
5. They dig deeper (as when they threatened to sue the Federal Reserve {yes, the Government} if they failed to disclose which securities it is accepting as collateral for $1.5 trillion of loans to banks).

The first company is living in 1989.

The second company is living in 2009..

[NoPCZone]

There is no journalism at CNBC- exactly what the Fake Steve Jobs was contending.

CNBC is the high church of Friedman- Milton Friedman. It's also a cheerleader for any rapacious capitalist that sees fit to screw over the IRS, consumers, stockholders, the environment and plain old common sense. It's the echo chamber for the US Chamber of Commerce- check today's hit piece on the Employee Free Choice Act that ran this morning on Squawk On The Street. Burnett and Haines pimped lie after half truth after lie, showed a fear-mongering clip from the US CoC Counsel and then pretended to not understand why the EFCA is important- barely concealing their grins.

I'd say well deserved.

[kndam72]

completely agree!

[jportnick]

I miss the Fake Steve Jobs blog. It was the funniest thing on the internet there for awhile.

[Hoisin]

Welcome to modern day journalism. Kiss corporate butt and they give you the exclusive, which of course you can sell for big $$$, but your competition of course wouldnt get that exclusive since they would ask challenging questions.....Kind of like how Hillary went on Larry King after the Blue dress mess (pun intended). It even got out that in order for Hillary to go on, she refused to go on unless she got a list of all his questions first.

[jsgaetano]

FSJ still delivers!

It's really great seeing "reporters" getting called out for repeating what they know is really B.S. It's a shame there isn't a Dan Lyons of the Washington Press Corpse.

[quoting]

Apple needs to be totally forthcoming with Steve Jobs health and make his health records public. Unfortunately, the charade that is being played with this issue casts a pall on an otherwise stellar career Jobs has had and on his enormous contribution to the computing field. Whatever the facts may be, Jobs should be thinking about his legacy and not allow it to be marred by this absurd controversy. Just put everything out for the public to see. Defuse all the brouhaha and let's see what can be in store for Apple which by most accounts is one of the premier innovative companies of our time.

[sherifffruitfly]

The last question was For The PWN!

If all you're going to do is repeat what liars tell you, there's no need whatsoever for a "press" to do *that*.

Gawd they're stupid.

[Truth-2-Power]

Minute 5:35

"If your just going to repeat press releases, why have the press?" - Dan Lyons

Finally, someone asks the question I have been pondering for 8yrs!!!

-Why does the press repeat lies after the lie has been exposed?

-Why do they debate obvious truths and bald-faced lies with equal merit?

-Why is financial research and reporting, essentially repeating what the company tells you?
Did that not lead to many of the financial problems we see today?
"The economy's fine" in August, brink of Depression in September?

The question was asked and finally I will have an answer!!!

CNBC hack - "Nobody can hear anything you guys are saying because your talking all over one another and we're out of time. Alas, gentlemen we have to leave it there."

DARN!

[CharlieinDenver]

I'd be curious as to how much of this story regarding S. J.'s health is being fanned by the same group of cheerleaders who used to bash Apple mercilessly and pray for the company's demise. How many technology experts confidently stated that Apple was dead in the 90's? It was Michael Dell who wisely suggested that Apple be shut down. It was Steve Ballmer who literally laughed at the notion of the iPhone.
It was the experts who predicted the iPod would be a flop, that the iMac was a flop, that nobody would buy from iTunes, and that the iPhone would be a bust. Frankly, conventional wisdom has clearly always been wrong when it comes to Apple inc.
As to Mr. Jobs, if he has something to say, he'll say it. Just let the man recuperate for pete's sakes.

[htd2009]

What a load of B.S. It's not enough that Apple puts out pound for pound the best products in the business and in order to reach that level, there must be some perception of ethics, style, etc. with regard to what corp. tells the media every time S.J. wipes his butt.

Who cares?! No one hounds Ballmer on why Vista, XP, Me, 3.1, have sucked from the very beginning. No one calls out Mike Dell on why Dell's products are no longer relevant and have become the veritable 'white noise' of the computer market.

We want it all, we expect Apple to put out these incredible products, made by angels and bunny rabbits, when the stock will stay up around 250 and such. Get real.

[motu]

Ha1!! Well said!

[AgeofEnlightenment]

What are you smoking. Dell's products are very relevant. In case you have not noticed, Apple still has a minute share of the market. Apple makes computers for right brained "artists" who wish to believe that they are relevant while Dell makes computers for left brained masters of the universe who run and control America. Try running the pathetic version of Excel from Office 2008 on an Apple machine, oh that is right, Apple users are not mathematical literate. Microsoft users have the money while Apple users have their noses firmly placed against the window pane, looking in.

[VegetableMan]

cash your bailout check yet there, skeezix?

[luke150]

it's pretty dumb to say that DELL users are smarter than Mac users. "Artists" are as much relevant as anybody else. We saw what the great masters of the universe did with the US financial system.
What really matters is the growth rate, not the absolute market share. GM has a 30% share of the US market, but so what??? Apple has doubled its market share in personal computers for the last couple of years. At the same time, DELL is outrun by Apple, HP and all the Asian PC makers.

[davidhilton1]

r u serious? y r u putting down artists.

[mellene]

The news media on all stations has turned into a joke. They're fueling the fear of the collapse of the U.S. and casuing Americans to stay away from spending a dime on anything. I blame the media for the mess we're in now. They've become an extension of whatever the politicos want implanted in our hearts and minds.

[Isis N]

Amen!

[alanposting]

Mellene, your not making any sense. Next time you go shopping check out that EVERY TIME you buy something it is made in China..... is that how your country stays strong? Wake up and smell the Chinese tea.

[ron ray]

CNBC is a shill for business. never hits the big stories first.