Watch Out, You Could Be Dead

How Steve Jobs’ obit got published - Apple 2.0

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has been retracted.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