Log Rolling in Our Time

The old Spy magazine had a feature called "Log Rolling In Our Time," in which it took to task reporters, authors and others who wrote blurbs and book-jacket copy for people who had done the same for them. Like a lot of things in Spy, it was witty and irreverent.

Well, my thoughts turned to Spy when I spied Arthur (Pinch) Sulzburger Jr.'s write-up in Time about Carlos Slim, the Mexican industrialist and now investor in the New York Times. Without Slim's money, the Times would have been in a deep financial hole. It essentially didn't have sufficient cash flow. I know this is "not in our backyard," but it's so fawning that no wonder the newspaper industry is in trouble.

Here's a short excerpt:

"It was obvious from the moment we met that he was a true Times loyalist. We had an enjoyable conversation about what was happening in this country and everywhere else in the world."

This is just too delicious and easy to mock.

Read the rest here: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1894410_1893837_1894158,00.html