The U.S. Postal Service tried to protect the secret when a mailman asked a Chicago-area woman to give back two copies of the book he had accidentally delivered before the release date. The mailman feared that he would lose his job for delivering the novel early.
This is a distortion of of the facts. Some booksellers did not package their books in a way that they were easily identified as HP7. Then also dropped their copies into the system early. The result? The books were delivered early. Carriers were not at risk of losing their jobs over this.
It appears to be a deliberate exageration by this author for the purpose of the article. So the question is - if this author is provably willing to distort facts how can the rest of what is written be trusted?
Many do not realize how readily journalists will warp facts to provide punch to a story, or worse, to push a particular viewpoint.
“Many do not realize how readily journalists will warp facts to provide punch to a story, or worse, to push a particular viewpoint.”
Agreed. Attributed quotes from nobody-pesons are among the worst, as usually they never said anything like what they are claimed to have; in other cases, as in the postal delivery case above, events are dramatized and distorted to such a degree that they could be considered fictional.
Many people assume that the high-profile cases are a few bad writers in a profession where most would not do this, but I think it is more a case of the guys being caught being the most incompetent.
In addition, yes, postal employees get seriously worried about losing their jobs when they make a mistake, especially where a guarantee by the Postal Service is concerned. They will lose their job if the infraction is deemed severe enough. It's common enough for postal employees to worry about their jobs: their employer, the federal government, has many strict regulations of their conduct. Also, the employee in question may not have been as well informed on the history of the book's release as you.
I don't think the author is saying that the Post Office was firing people over this, but that the mailman thought he might be fired.
There was a seller on ebay who was contacted by a journalist (who said that he declined to be interviewed) who posed as the publisher. The information was provided to the publisher by the retailer.
It would not suprise me in the least that the vendor or publisher strong armed the USPS to track down the early distributed copies.
RIAA performs FBI style raids on flea markets without a court order.
The entertainment industry acts as their own police force.