We discussed some institutional legacies of journalism in one of my classes today, such as the idea that the newspaper or the broadcast anchor holds authority over what’s important in the world; the idea, as Walter Cronkite might have put it, that mainstream media control “the way it is.”

Wouldn’t you know it? That view reared its head in the Washington Post:

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for a reporter in our newsroom to be challenging the views, or challenging the integrity, of our editorial board”

speaketh Liz Spayd, the Post’s managing editor.

A reporter challenging authority? Perish the thought!