Poll, brad stone, dan lyons, david churbuck, fake steve jobs, forbes

How big a raise should Forbes give Fake Steve Jobs?

Give Dan Lyons a raise! On air yesterday, CNBC anchor Melissa Francis told Dan Lyons, the Forbes editor recently revealed as Fake Steve Jobs, that he deserved a raise. Lyons nervously concurred. Nervously, because he still hasn't concluded fraught negotiations with his employer on how much Forbes will pay to bring his blog, The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs, on board when Brad Stone of the New York Times outed him as the author. But no matter. "We've already established what you are, ma'am," I can imagine Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard telling Lyons. "Now we're just haggling over the price."

And what price? That's the question. Lyons's friends are already negotiating for him in public; curiously close chum David Churbuck says Fake Steve is worth $250,000 a year. So let's join in! Help Lyons and Karlgaard come to terms by voting in our poll! Just a couple things to keep in mind as you vote: Like most senior editors at big business magazines, Lyons already makes a six-figure salary. And his day job apparently didn't keep him busy enough to prevent him from moonlighting as Fake Steve.

8:04 AM on Tue Aug 7 2007
By Owen Thomas
1,323 views
8 comments

Comments

jmdecombe at 08:21 AM on 08/07/07
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Actually, he should now be paid $1/year, like Real Steve Jobs
Rand at 08:22 AM on 08/07/07
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What does Fake Steve Jobs need a raise for? He is worth billions of fake dollars, has millions more in fake stock options, and lives in a big fake mansion in California!
Mayor McRib at 08:26 AM on 08/07/07
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Fake Steve Jobs is over now that he has been outed. The guessing is over and the barbs will have much less bite now that everyone knows who it is.
Menaq417 at 08:34 AM on 08/07/07
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I agree with Mayor above. The real draw for me reading the FSJ stories was the secretive nature of who was writing them. I probably will be less likely to read his blog now that it's moving to Forbes.com. My guess is that much of the value of the FSJ persona came from the fact that the true identity was always in question. Now that it's not, the value is dwindling. My verdict: Forbes will pay him a flat fee to use the FSJ blog on their website but will not give him a raise.
Preston at 09:17 AM on 08/07/07
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A raise? He should quit, make it happen on his own in new media.
SlightlyLessDeliciousN... at 09:21 AM on 08/07/07
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@jmdecombe:

Yeah, a dollar and a truckload of manipulated securities.
Magister at 11:29 AM on 08/07/07
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I agree with @Mayor McRib & @Menaq417. The fellow's ability to snark will now be quite limited and the made-up stories about Bono and others will just be another work of fiction. Sure, I continued to occasionally glance at the fake Nick Nolte diary after it was revealed as a fake and the site covered in disclaimers, but eventually I stopped even occasionally dropping-by and it appears that the authors also quit posting after they were no longer getting referral links.
$Image of Johnny Zhivago\'s Cat$ Johnny Zhivago's Cat at 08:08 PM on 08/09/07
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My theory is that Apple's PI's found out Lyons then went to Forbes with an ultimatum, thus the stupid cover story with the Times.

If I ever give an interview to Dan Lyons, I'll be sure to ask him if it's for publication, or if he's sizing up a character for Fake Steve. I am amazed Forbes would even want the blog on their site - yes insulting AT&T and IBM sounds like a great way to win advertiser, but what the hoo???