Basically what's happened here and elsewhere is Apple's profile is so big now and there is so much money to be made writing and breaking scoops about them that

Basically what's happened here and elsewhere is Apple's profile is so big now and there is so much money to be made writing and breaking scoops about them that everything is under much more intense scrutiny then before. Apple is like the country drifter who's been able to avoid the Barney Fifes at the local sheriffs offices but get's caught once the FBI forensic team is brought in. The expectation I guess is more secrecy. When they're internally testing iOS 7 they sure as hell won't call it iOS 7 before the announcement. They may approach a number of these sites and offer payments for NDA, (this information is presumably more valuable to Apple then it is to Ars so they can just pay Ars). More intentional misdirection.