Curious Sourcing at The Telegraph

This segment of a report titled “Can Anyone Replace Steve Jobs at Apple?” by Rupert Neate and James Quinn that appeared last week in the U.K. Telegraph caught my eye:

Apple insiders say Mr Cook — who also took the helm while Mr Jobs took time off for treatment for a rare type of pancreatic cancer in 2004 — has been effectively “running Apple for a long time”.

Michael Janes, who runs Apple’s online store, said: “Steve is the face of the company and very involved with product development but Tim is the guy who takes all those designs and turns it into a big pile of cash for the company.”

First, I never heard of Michael Janes before. Second, if he currently “runs Apple’s online store”, why on earth would he be talking to the press about Apple senior management? When is the last time anyone at Apple has been quoted by name in a news story regarding how Apple operates?

It ends up Janes does not “run Apple’s online store”. Jennifer Bailey does, as Apple’s vice president of the Apple online store. Michael Janes did run the Apple online store — emphasis on the past tense — about six years ago.

★ Friday, 23 January 2009