The Times' Tabloid Envy

The New York Times obituary for William J. Brink, the former New York Daily News managing editor who died Friday and wrote the most memorable newspaper headline this side of "Headless Body in Topless Bar"--"Ford to City: Drop Dead"--ends with a rare self-effacing flourish:

The corresponding headline in The New York Times that day, FORD, CASTIGATING CITY, ASSERTS HE'D VETO FUND GUARANTEE; OFFERS BANKRUPTCY BILL, remains unsung.