Wired News editor Tony Long wins a bit of our love for calling out Steve Jobs' hero worshippers. He defends Leander Kahney's stinginess story and rips the cult of Jobs to pieces.

Look, Jobs revived a for-profit, stockholder-beholden company. That's all. Well, bully for him. He didn't walk on water, although a lot of you seem to believe that he can.

Tough talk, sure. But what journalist hasn't soured on Jobs?

Alan Deutschman wrote in The Second Coming of Steve Jobs about the grumpy billionaire being a jerk to a friendly Wired editor. Jobs "stormed into" his interview and answered softball questions with, "I don't have time for this philosophical bullshit."

But why did this story wait for a book? Why wouldn't Wired go public right away? Fear of Jobs. Reporters feel fine dishing dirt to each other about Jobs' ranting antics. But no one wants to lose the Mighty Apple Marketing Dollar or be banned from the fancy keynote events. Kudos to Long for speaking up, but will the rest of the Valley journalists please stop kneeling at the Jobs altar?

Worship Not These False Idols [Wired]

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