"It was like Dorkfest 2007. The newsroom, filled with empty desks which were lousy with dustballs, contained about a hundred pizzas, 500 bottles of beer, and hundreds of journalists, editors and photogs sweating it out to the sounds of the 70s spun by an in-house DJ. The greatest talents in the newspaper world were cutting loose in the only way smart people can: very earnestly. As the news clerks played a drinking game in the back—special guest appearance by a serene-looking Bill Keller—dancing bodies stole the attention away from the photo slideshow of the newsroom in its heyday playing on the wall.
"Keller's memo called for no speeches, no toasts, and, mercifully, there weren't any. Sewell Chan was there, happy and relaxed for a change, as was the always-adorable Pat Healy, who should be a star in Washington as the campaign heats up. Everyone was there, except it was so crowded that it was nearly impossible to make the rounds, so some hopped up on desks and filing cabinets and shimmied to the beat.
"But the best was Joe Sexton, Metro Editor, who is always a relaxed, jovial presence in the newsroom, always encouraging social outings, and he's a huge hip-hop fan, so nobody could hold a candle to his moves. He was on that dance floor for at least a couple hours, drenched in sweat. Nobody made a fool of themselves, and nobody was too drunk, I don't think. Some took the rare opportunity to travel to the 14th floor and see Sulzberger's private quarters, replete with his bedroom and shower, now empty."
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