“BEAT-SWEETENER PIECES.”

“BEAT-SWEETENER PIECES.” Almost two years ago, I posted on Mickey Kaus’s use of the term “source-greaser” for an article that is slanted toward an anonymous source. In the November 10 Washington Post, Howard Kurtz quotes a former managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, who uses the term “beat-sweetener pieces”, which are used to “cultivate sources” (apparently new appointees). The term has been around for at least eight years, since here is a link to a Slate contest which challenged readers to write a paragraph from a “beat-sweetener” article for an imaginary Bush cabinet appointee.