Jadaliyya (e-zine of the Arab Studies Institute) offers a tragicomic compendium: Seventy Years of the New York Times Describing Saudi Royals as Reformers*
Example:
1960:
“King Saud has increasingly assumed the role of liberal champion of constitutional reform.”
Note: The Saudi constitution was adopted by royal decree in 1992
Years later:
2009:
Announcing that local elections have been delayed for two years, this report nonetheless lauds the king’s reformist intentions before concluding with the following quote: “You have a reform-oriented king trying to push in the direction of reform, but you have a non-reform-oriented structure that is close to impossible to change.”
And finally, Thomas Friedman's fawning over the prince who is currently in the news for "whacking" a critic in the Turkish consulate:
2017:
[T]his Friedman piece includes such gems as “he is much more McKinsey than Wahhabi — much more a numbers cruncher than a Quran thumper.”
*Update: The timeline starts in 1953 so "seventy years" is an exaggeration. Post title changed,