MediaFile

Maybe it’s because they got hold of his iPhone prototype. Or maybe he’s just a traditionalist when it comes to reading the news. But one thing is clear: Apple CEO Steve Jobs doesn’t care much for blogs.

During a rare and revealing 90-minute on-stage Q&A at the All Things Digital Conference on Tuesday, Jobs repeatedly let slip his disdain for the new breed of Web-based publications, which he suggested should not necessarily be deemed legitimate journalism outlets.

“When I think of the most important journalistic endeavors in this country, I think of things like the Washington Post, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and publications like that,” he said on the subject of maintaining a healthy free press, which Jobs described as key to democracy and something that he hoped the new iPad tablet PC might help.

“I don’t want to see us descend into a nation of bloggers,” he said.

Later, when asked a question about what he saw himself doing ten years down the road, Jobs took another jab at the blogging set, sounding off for the first time in public about the famous lost iPhone prototype that was purchased by the technology blog Gizmodo and displayed online earlier this year.

“When this whole thing with Gizmodo happened, I got a lot of advice from people that said you got to just let it slide. You shouldn’t go after a journalist because they bought stolen property and they tried to extort you,” Jobs recounted.

“I thought deeply about this. I ended up concluding that the worst thing that could possibly happen as we get big and we get a little more influence in the world is if we change our core values and start letting it slide. I can’t do that. I’d rather quit.”