Politics Not Pancreas the Reason for Jobs' Macworld Exit

The news that Steve Jobs would not deliver the keynote at this year's Macworld Expo in San Francisco next month was hardly a surprise to those of us covering this company. Rumors had been swirling for weeks that Jobs wouldn't attend and when Macworld officials wouldn't confirm his attendance, so close to the event itself, rumors only grew louder.

Also not a surprise: swirling rumors that Jobs was pulling out of the conference, the last Macworld, because of health concerns.

I can tell you that sources inside the company tell me that Jobs' decision was more about politics than his pancreas. Sources tell me that if Jobs for some reason was unable to perform any of his responsibilities as CEO because of health reasons, which would include the Macworld keynote, I should "rest assured that the board would let me know."

So I'm inclined to believe it. Especially as I look at the history of Macworld and Apple's relationship to it.




Apple has been trying to separate itself from Macworld for some time, preferring instead to host its own "special events" a few times a year. There used to be Macworld New York, Boston, Tokyo and other expos around the world. But over the years they have been scaled back significantly as Apple has been able to appeal directly to its customers via the iTunes website and its 250 retail stores which host more than 3.5 million visitors every week.

The fact is, Apple hosting its own events gives the company complete and total control over its own message. More and more companies are leaving traditional trade shows in favor of enjoying the total spotlight at their own events. I've reported recently that some big names are either dramatically reducing, or exiting all together, the massive Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month.

Apple's decision seems to follow that trend. Shares [AAPL 90.75 5.40 (+6.33%) ] took a hit on the Steve Jobs news, which make sense in the bizarro world of sell-first-ask-questions-later dominating Wall Street nowadays. Which once again is too bad. Steve Jobs is fine. It's Macworld the expo that's on its last legs.