Mr. Barbaro, via Indiana University

The New York Times-Wall Street Journal rivalry is alive and well on the local politics beat. When The Journal wrote about Huma Abedin’s pregnancy without crediting The Times, the Gray Lady’s city and politics reporter Michael Barbaro (who, total coincidence, broke the news) fired off a tweet.

“For second time in two weeks, WSJ borrows NYT reporting on Weiner without attribution, ending era of courtesy,” he wrote.

A Journal op-ed about gay marriage the next week seemed written to egg on the competitive Mr. Barbaro, who often prefaces tweets with “NYT EXCLUSIVE.”

“WSJ, furthering no NYT mention policy, refers obliquely to ‘Manhattan broadsheet’ in editorial; mentions NY Sun by name,” Mr. Barbaro wrote.

A Times spokeswoman told Off the Record, “We compete zealously but deal with competitors openly and honestly. We do not invent obstacles to hamstring their efforts. When we first use facts originally reported by another news organization, we attribute them.”

The Wall Street Journal reporters did not return requests for comment.

Off the Record wondered, how long must something be public knowledge before one needn’t credit the news source that broke it? “Bitching about the lack of credit from others is as old as newspapers,” said Slate media columnist Jack Shafer. “Like syphilis and cockroaches, it’s always going to be with us.”

kstoeffel@observer.com

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