How Does Andrew Ross Sorkin Reel In His Sources?

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The big New York profile on Times Boy Andrew Ross Sorkin is out today. Gabe Sherman tells us all about the jealousy the DealBook editor has inspired among his colleagues, what with his big (for a journalist) paycheck, his fame, and, most especially, his Rolodex of BSD sources. There's been a lot of alleged trash talk in the newsroom, most recently on account of Don Van Natta and Gretchen Morgenson claiming he stole material from them for his book. Before that (and still) the complaints have been that the reason Sorkin counts many a chief executive as a source is because he goes far too easy on them in print. Whether or not that's true, not being "adversarial or coming to the table with an ax to grind" isn't the only way ARS has managed to get people like Mack and Buffett and Dimon and Schwarzman on speed-dial (and at his party). According to Graydon Carter, it's by 1) His "boyish"-ness and 2) something else that we would never suggest but that I think we're supposed to guess by way of nonsensical euphemism.

Sorkin has another crucial advantage in the world he's traveling in: He gives good son. "There's something about his boyish, Jimmy Stewart charm that the older men he deals with find incredibly winning," Graydon Carter says.

The Information Broker [NYM]

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Come Between Andrew Ross Sorkin And His Pita Chips, Take Your Life Into Your Own Hands

It's often been said, in profiles, conversations, and the like, that Andrew Ross Sorkin is the hardest working man in America, juggling several  jobs at any given time. Up until now, the ones we knew about were 1) Dealbook editor 2) Squawk Box host and 3) author. Today we've learned of yet another title he holds: (self-described) Human Garbage Disposal. "If food is in front of me, I have to eat it," Sorkin told Grub Street, while taking part in its "New York Diet" series, an accounting of one person's food intake over a given week. From March 2 to March 7 we get to see ARS's appetite in action, destroying everything in its wake. Yogurt (Fage peach), his children's chicken nuggets, Chinese food, coffee ice-cream, tomato soup, mushroom soup, peanut butter brownies, turkey sandwiches, margaritas, Red Bull, oysters, Muscle Milk, pretzels, steak, salmon, Chirpin' Chicken, sweet-potato fries. It's actually quite mesmerizing. And that's just what he consumes for sustenance. Here's what he goes weak in the knees for. Anything that came out of a deep-fryer: "...we ended up at Five Points where I had two spicy margaritas and ruined [my] workout within in twenty minutes. I also had a spinach salad, rockfish, and a chocolate brioche bread pudding and apple crisp to die for. Give me anything baked or fried and ... forget it. Donuts, Glazed: "All is well in the world, until someone brings Dunkin' Donuts to theTimes office. No will power around glazed doughnuts. I could eat a whole table of them. They're classic and timeless, without being too sugary and complicated." Bread pudding, which he'll eat off the plate of a source: "In between MSNBC and the Times, I went to lunch with two venture capitalists at Michael's. Their choice, not mine. I like it there because that's how people know you haven't died yet. Ate salmon with mustard and sorbet for dessert. Okay, the venture capitalists offered me some bread pudding, and I got all in on that, too." His Stacey's Pita Chips. Do not get him started.: "Now I really go off the rails at home. It starts with a glass of red wine and half a bag of Stacey Chips. Then I eat more, but with hummus. They're the greatest chips in the history of all chips. When I was writing my book three years ago, I'd go to a bodega at eleven o'clock at night for a liter of Diet Coke, a couple beers, and my Stacey Chips." Andrew Ross Sorkin Will Eat Anything You Feed Him, Especially If It Is Baked or Fried [Grub Street]