Sticking by your sources

Tim Arango of the New York Times writes Monday about the brouhaha that has surrounded CNBC Silicon Valley bureau chief Jim Goldman and his reporting on Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

Arango writes, “Mr. Goldman had come under fire in the blogosphere for reporting that Mr. Jobs’s health was not the issue behind his recent absence from the Macworld conference. He responded by saying he stuck with his sources.

“’All along, sources (and yes, there are several) inside Apple have reassured me that Jobs was firmly in charge, executing his responsibilities, and performing his role as C.E.O.,’ Mr. Goldman wrote on his blog. ‘One source, who I have known for years, told me recently that Jobs was ‘fine,’ and that everything was under control. All of it was fine. And I stand by every word of that reporting. Even today.’

“In an e-mail message, Mr. Lyons said he had apologized to Mr. Goldman for ‘being so rude.’ He continued: ‘I’m embarrassed and feel bad about the whole thing and just want to let it drop.’

“Meanwhile, Mr. Lyons was briefly under the impression that he had been banned from further appearances on CNBC, which a network spokesman said was not true.”

Read more here.