This time it's coming from Lloyd Grove, who doesn't pretend to know whether the media-made billionaire really plans to go after NYT Co. He did, however, get a short email from the man himself, who wrote, "I am not going to talk about this at all, as it is counterproductive." Perhaps more instructive is Grove's take on how Geffen handles journalists. From New York magazine:

More than most rich men, Geffen is fully a creature of the media. He's unintimidated by it, loves journalists, and loves manipulating them, alternately subtle, seductive, and bullying; most love him right back. He returns phone calls and spins stories dramatically, usually to advance his interests, under the shield of "background." When his friend Jeffrey Katzenberg was battling his boss at Disney, Michael Eisner, suddenly the Times reported that Eisner "has few close friends" and that Katzenberg was going to quit if he wasn't treated better. All this came from Geffen.

Grove also wonders how Geffen could possibly resist using the NYT for his personal agenda. "Would he have the self-discipline not to use it for his personal loves, vendettas, whatever?" one of his sources wondered. "For people who haven't been in journalism, they think that if you own something, it's yours to do with what you want."