The Complete Text of Steve Jobs’ Obit, Accidentally Posted by Bloomberg

August 27th, 2008 at 3:00 PM - News by John Martellaro

On Wednesday, Bloomberg updated its canned obituary for Steve Jobs but accidentally published it in the process, according to Gawker.com. Even though Bloomberg later removed it and published a retraction, the complete text of the obituary was captured and preserved for all to read.

The obituary itself doesnit add anything new that hasnit been written about the Apple co-founder in the many books about him.

However, in the process of accidentally publishing the story, Bloomberg disclosed who it would contact at the proper time. Again, there were no surprises on that list.

Some publications that follow corporate leaders have these obituaries pre-written so that it can be published without undue time pressure at the appropriate moment.

Bloomberg editors Joe Winski and Cesca Antonelli said: "An incomplete story referencing Apple Inc. was inadvertently published by Bloomberg News at 4:27 p.m. New York time today. [Wednesday] The item was never meant for publication and has been retracted."

Of course, there is likely a lot more yet to be written of Mr. Jobsi life. For those who are curious to see what Bloomberg had in mind, the editorial slip has some minor value. More compelling, perhaps, is the state of modern publishing that allows something like that to happen. Even Apple has been caught prematurely posting secrets on their Website - something that Mr. Jobs once had to deal with, at least publicly, with some humor at WWDC. However, a sense of humor may be in short supply at Bloomberg today.

The editorial mistake is all the more poignant considering the recent revelations and concerns about Mr. Jobsi health, recovery from pancreatic cancer and gaunt appearance at WWDC - later explained.