Dan Lyons, who once wrote the "Fake Steve Jobs" blog, criticized Silicon Valley bureau chief Jim Goldman for withholding information from sources inside Apple about Steve Jobs' health.

The sparks fly in this video around the 3:30 mark.

Lyons, on CNBC Reports, said Goldman had become the kind of reporter that gets "played and punked" by Apple, and that he should have released the information he knew on Monday, before Apple's announcement yesterday. Lyons also demanded that Goldman apologize to Gizmodo, for criticizing their December 30 story about Jobs' declining health.

Goldman said that he had contacted two individuals on Monday who have personal contact with Jobs, but don't know the intimate details about his medical treatment. Goldman wrote yesterday:

What struck me was that both felt compelled to come to me to tell me that they had "serious misgivings" about the state of Jobs' health. One said, based on his contact with Jobs personally, that he was in "serious denial" about just how bad the circumstances had become. The other explained to me that he was "deeply concerned" about Jobs, and the sudden lack of communication, the non-return of emails, ignoring chat requests, unreturned phone calls was a strong indication to him that Jobs was in "dire" shape.

According to Silicon Alley Insider, a source close to the matter said that Lyons had been banned from appearing on CNBC again, though CNBC spokesman Kevin Goldman (no relation) said "Real Dan" had not been banned.

In related news, Joe Nocera, the New York Times journalist who Steve Jobs called a "slime bucket" in an off-the-record phone interview about his health, said that the medical problem Jobs confessed to in the call is different from the "hormone imbalance" mentioned in Apple's press release just before Macworld. Nocera called for greater transparency from Apple about how it discusses Steve's health.

[Via MacDailyNews.]

On a personal and editorial note, I wish Mr. Jobs and his family all the best, and this is the last story I'll be writing about yesterday's announcement for the foreseeable future. I was conflicted about even writing this, because Jobs deserves his time to recuperate, free from the spread of rumors and half-truths. Perhaps the less I write about it, the healthier he'll get. In theory. Maybe. We can hope. - RP

First the good news. Dan Lyons, the man behind Fake Steve Jobs, has suggested that his fictional alter-ego may be ready for a return. Earlier in the summer, Dan left his job at Forbes for Newsweek, and stopped writing as Fake Steve in the process.

However, this week he starts that Newsweek job, and told Mac Soda that Fake Steve is to be a part of that. Which is great, as Fake Steve is very insightful and funny.

Now the bad news. In the same interview, Dan says that Steve Jobs is ill. Speculation over Steve's health has been a topic of discussion this summer, while Apple has been quiet and respectful of Steve's privacy.

We expect to see Steve during next week's press event. We hope he's doing well.

Dan Lyons, the real Fake Steve Jobs, is leaving his editor's job at Forbes to join the staff of Newsweek, where he'll take over for outgoing columnist Steven Levy. (Levy left Newsweek for Wired in April.)

Lyons is leaving Forbes on good terms, with associate managing editor Bruce Upbin writing, "Saying we wish him well is an understatement." No details surrounding the financial aspects of the transition were immediately available.

Since Lyons owns the FSJ property himself, Silicon Alley Insider says he'll be bringing El Stevo with him, but it remains unclear what will change about the vast FSJ media empire.

Fake Steve, I honor the place where your funny and my bone become one. Namaste.

[Via Daring Fireball.]

You're a busy person, we here at TUAW know that. You don't have time to sit through the whole stream of this year's WWDC keynote (and judging by the reaction it might not be worth it). There is one thing that everyone in attendance agreed on though, the video that started the keynote is well worth a watch. Check it out for yourself (either embedded in this post, or on YouTube). Watch as 'Steve Jobs' shares some important news.

Thanks, Karim.

[via Long Zheng]