It turns out the Apple public relations staffers did talk to reporters — always off the record — about Mike Daisey, pointing out inaccuracies in his account and suggesting that it was extremely unlikely that one man could have seen as much as Daisey claimed he saw in one trip to China. Among the journalists they warned off the Daisey story were Ira Glass and This American Life producer Brian Reid.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt: Apple and the Daisey affair. I’m not thrilled with that “it turns out” construction, but this is a facet of the story that shouldn’t be missed.