ink-stained wretches

‘Times’ Lobby Reopens After Anthrax Scare

Coach!

This morning, a secretary at the Times opened an envelope addressed to editorial-page editor Andrew Rosenthal and a “white granular substance” came flying out. Naturally, everyone freaked, remembering the anthrax scare of 2001; police were called, and the lobby was shut down for nearly four hours while authorities determined if the substance was toxic (it was not). The envelope, which was hand-addressed and had no return address, also contained a letter, one which probably explained the motivations of the sender — but according to spokeswoman Catherine Mathis, “to the best of my knowledge, no one from The Times read it” before handing it over to police. Arrgh. So! Since the reporters at the Times are apparently such wimps that they chose, like, safety over fulfilling our curiosity, we have no choice but to just randomly toss some guesses into the air about who the sender might have been, after the jump.


1. Judy Miller did it as a publicity stunt for her new job at Fox.
2. Rosenthal realized later that’s where he had hidden those Smarties, but he was too embarrassed to say anything, especially since he’s supposed to be off sugar.
3. An increasingly desperate and unhinged Steve Schmidt.
4. A person who lives in New Jersey and is crazy.

Police Investigation Closes Times Lobby [City Room/NYT]

‘Times’ Lobby Reopens After Anthrax Scare