Pearlstine Hearts Fitzgerald

When the Valerie Plame scandal was at its height, Norman Pearlstine, the then-editor in chief of Time Inc., appeared to be on the opposing side from special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, who was demanding that news organizations that received leaks about Ms. Plame reveal their sources.

But today, Mr. Pearlstine, who chose to cooperate with the investigation, had fond words for Mr. Fitzgerald, telling a J-school audience, according to Editor and Publisher: "When I consider all the things that happened when Alberto Gonzales was attorney general -- I really considered him an outpost of sanity."

Mr. Pearlstine added that he had sent Mr. Fitzgerald a copy of his book, Off the Record: The Press, the Government, and the War over Anonymous Sources, published this year, with an inscription that read: "I couldn't have written this without you."