Friday Letter Selling the sizzle

Last month, a group of reporters gathered at the New York City headquarters of a large investment bank for an off-the-record discussion on the growth in the alternative asset industry. Journalists from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times were in attendance, as were members of slightly less august publications. And given the relevance of the topic—two weeks earlier, The Blackstone Group had announced its intentions to go public—the bankers addressed an audience hungry for information.