For years, pretty much post NRW (note NRW's founder Bill Ryan is a Comunicano team member) Apple has played a very good game of hide and seek with the media, largely using key events of their own to put information out as necessary. Their Corporate Communications lead, Katie Cotton is one very shrewd and proven veteran and has successfully navigated up the news chain for many years, and more importantly kept the Investor Relations pipeline properly oiled, as Apple's stock price clearly indicates.
So it's no surprise that Phil Schiller, the man likely being groomed to lead Apple post Steve Jobs or at least be the front man for the company would communicate directly with unhappy developers, a point TechCrunch wondered about.
Here's why: Schiller is the top gun for Apple in the Developer Relations realm. It's his baby. Being on the front line and being not only the "manager" but also the "face" of it increases his "touch" with the community. The community is different than the "media" who covers them. By being more visible this helps signal the market that Apple is being different. It also places Schiller though in what will be the cross hairs of the whole GoogleVoice matter, and moves Steve Jobs out of that light.
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