The heady rush of access can cloud a reporter's brain. Nicholas Carlson, late of Valleywag, now at Silicon Alley Insider, had stalked his prey inside New York's Natural History Museum: Randy Falco, the CEO of AOL. After Falco made a presentation to media buyers, Carlson buttonholed him and got his scoop: Falco is of the opinion that, with Jerry Yang out as CEO, President Sue Decker will swiftly follow. But he missed the real story.

The real story: Falco freely admits he knows nothing. "I don't know anything," he told Carlson. Who's Yahoo's next CEO? "I don't have any idea." Falco, the boss of a fallen company that is nonetheless one of the largest sellers of advertising on the Web, is out of the loop, clueless, unplugged. He has no bits of gossip to trade one one of his biggest competitors, no spin to offer. Why should he? Time Warner has plainly put AOL up for sale behind Falco's back; Falco is just punching the clock as he presides over AOL's disassembly.

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