Mark Twain said, “Never pick a fight with a man who buys his ink by the barrel.” But what happens when both sides have ink (print, digital and otherwise) to spare?

You get this: The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have been mixing it up ever since Rupert Murdoch bought The Journal.

Now, we’re reaching a bit of a crescendo in this scrap. The Times is taking exception to the tongue-in-cheek, finger-in-the-eye ad campaign that The Journal has been running since introducing its Greater New York section, widely considered to be another strategic move to supplant The Times.

Perhaps not as down and dirty as the Hearst v. Pulitzer fight for audience supremacy of the New York newspaper business in the 1890s, but still fun to watch.

Relative to reputation, something like this – to a degree – gives both media brands a bit of a shot in the arm because it forces both to improve. Every now and again, we like to see two big boys going after each other. Pepsi v. Coke. Bud Light v. Miller Light. Apple v. Mac. And if the end result is excellent journalism, we all benefit.

To paraphrase another great thinker and social observer, Clemenza from The Godfather, let’s go to the mattresses.

This is what I’m talking about. A battle in and for the streets of New York.

msacks General Corporate New York Times, Wall Street Journal