Philip Elmer-DeWitt, on the story that Foxconn CEO Tery Gou leaked Apple’s upcoming “iTV” product:
What none of these reporters mentioned (or apparently bothered to consider) is that Gou — whose factories assemble 40% of the world’s electronic devices — is one of the industry’s most secretive executives. He is privy to the future product plans of the most valuable electronics brands — not just Apple, but also Sony, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and the rest. He is trusted by his business partners because he never leaks their secrets.
Given how jealously Apple guards its own secrets, and how relentlessly it pursues those who spill them, what are the chances that Gou would say anything — ever — about an unannounced Apple product, real or imagined?
I’d say, nil.
In the race to hit publish, many writers simply took the source at face value, without thinking much about it. That sort of reporting simply isn’t accurate — or responsible. Real reporters should question everything — including the validity of sources.
