I am willing to cut them a little slack because this issue appears to have not hurt down loads but at the same time this should be a wake up call to all podcasters that count on Apple to deliver their audience numbers.
For most the iTunes listings have become a self perpetuating scam anyway. Very few shows have broke into the top 100 list in over a year. The reason is simple people using iTunes continue to have to deal with a directory that in my opinion has become self serving to a select few.
Sadly though I am having a hard time recommending any other podcatchers at this time due to the fact most have been abandoned by their authors with aging and inaccurate directories. [Apple]