Speaking of the New York Times, Jonah, in my weekend column I noted my rare appearance in its august pages (well, okay, September pages):

Mark Steyn, a Canadian author and political commentator, speaking on the Rush Limbaugh show on Wednesday, accused Mr. Obama of trying to create a cult of personality, comparing him to Saddam Hussein and Kim Jong Il, the North Korean leader.

Tim Blair, the great Australian wag, has a round-up of those hardworking types at other publications whose concept of journalism begins and ends with seeing what’s in the New York Times and passing it on. Tim missed a few, like the Sacramento Bee:

On Wednesday, Canadian-born writer Mark Steyn said on Rush Limbaugh’s nationally broadcast radio show that Obama’s ambitions to create a “cult of personality” were similar to those of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il or former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein.

And the Las Vegas Sun:

The New York Times quoted Mark Steyn, filling in for conservative radio demagogue Rush Limbaugh, as saying Obama was trying to create a cult of personality like Saddam Hussein or North Korea’s Kim Jong Il.

“Quoted”, eh? Actually, if you read the Times piece — by two reporters, no less — the striking feature is that there’s no direct quote, is there? Not to worry. It’s even been picked up overseas. Lara Marlowe in Ireland’s newspaper of record, the Irish Times:

First prize for lunacy goes to Canadian commentator Mark Steyn, who accuses Obama of trying to establish a “personality cult” like Saddam Hussein or North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

And first prize for laziness goes to Irish commentator Lara Marlowe. For the record, here’s the only thing I actually said about Kim and Saddam on Wednesday’s Rush show:

Obviously we’re not talking about the cult of personality on the kind of Saddam Hussein/Kim Jong-Il scale.

It shouldn’t be that difficult for Ms. Marlowe and the stenographers of the Las Vegas Sun, Chicago Tibune et al. The Times helpfully enclosed a link to George Soros’s website and the relevant bit of audio lasts all of 54 seconds, so it wouldn’t cut unduly into Ms. Marlowe’s and Tim Wiegand’s valuable time for original research.

As I understand it, what we’re supposed to miss about U.S. newspapers will be the “layers of fact-checking” and rigorous editing. In reality, a significant percentage of American newspapering is little more than provincial wannabes doing New York Times karaoke — which might have made more sense before young Sulzberger drove his paper to junk stock and into the arms of its unlikely Mexican benefactor. Meanwhile, tens of millions of real people hear Rush’s show, but any similarity between the audio and the version that appears in the “newspaper of record” is entirely coincidental.

As for my former colleague in Dublin, too many overseas “bureaus” in Washington boil down to paying someone to relocate halfway round the world, sit in an office at the National Press Building and transcribe the New York Times and Wolf Blitzer’s Situation Room all day long. An expensive business model.

Still, look on the bright side: My non-quote got more MSM coverage than Van Jones! Gotta know your priorities.