I'm Sorry, Apple!

Henry Blodget

Two months ago, after reading the transcript of a public-radio show ("This American Life") about Apple's manufacturing processes, I wrote a post in which I relayed some details reported by Mike Daisey, the primary source for the show.

I relayed the details because they seemed noteworthy and because I thought they were true.

Now, however, thanks to the suspicions of Rob Schmitz, an NPR reporter who has spent the past 18 months covering Apple's supply chain, "This American Life" has discovered that Mike Daisey lied to its producers and the American public (and me) about what he saw in China. Daisey's fabrications were so extensive, apparently, that the show felt compelled to retract the entire episode.

My reaction to "This American Life's" original episode about Apple's manufacturing processes was not unusual. The show compelled lots of people to say, basically, "Hey, wait a minute, maybe we should think more about how these electronic gadgets we love so much are made."

The show was followed by an excellent series of articles by the New York Times and others that confirmed the general gist of what "This American Life" had reported. And this scrutiny compelled Apple to undertake an investigation of its own and take the unusual (for Apple) step of giving Originals