On the scoop front, The New York Times grudgingly admitted that The Wall Street Journal's Web site broke Thursday afternoon's news about Delta Air Lines Inc.'s plans to seek an acquisition partner -- grudgingly because the Times buried the reference in the 10th paragraph. That follows Thursday's curious omissions of other Journal scoops.
The Times, however, failed to give the Journal credit for its scoop on Thursday that Bank of America Corp. was talking to Countrywide Financial Corp. or to acknowledge in its piece about Merrill Lynch & Co.'s allegedly imminent write-down that the Journal broke earlier in the week. The latter may have been more excusable: The initial Journal story didn't provide the Times' $15 billion figure. - Matthew Wurtzel
