Sanger and Weisman set some sort of record atthe New York Times.

Perhaps New York Times reporters David E. Sanger and Steven R. Weisman didn't get the interoffice memoTimes Assistant Managing Editor Allan M. Siegal e-mailed last week. Siegal's memo announces the formation of an in-house committee charged with finding ways to increase the newspaper's credibility. "We'd like to believe we have reduced our dependence on anonymous sources," Siegal writes in his memo and asks the newsroom if more blind sources can be squeezed out of the paper.

Today (Nov. 17), the two reporters reverse Siegal's progress by packing at least 22 anonymice into their 1,400-word, Page One story, "Cabinet Choices Seen as Move for More Harmony and Control." This works out to one anonymous or vaguely attributed thought, sentiment, feeling, or a quotation every 63.6 words (as many words contained in this paragraph!). The scampering anonymice appear in this order:

—"current and former administration officials"

—"One senior official"

—"A close associate of Mr. Powell"

—"friends [of Condoleezza Rice]"

—"a national security official who just left the administration"

—"people who know [the president's] mind"

—"one official who no longer works in the White House but deals with it often"

—"Some"