From the 90s through the Bush years there was a degree of celebritization of the DC press. The White House Correspondent's Dinner became the annual representation of that. Too often "the news" wasn't about the news, it was about the people providing the news. Even as journalists clung to their "objectivity," they (#notalljournalists) eagerly embraced their role as power brokers, an obviously contradictory position.
For various reasons I think that era is fading. Not gone, quite, but fading. Mark Halperin is still with us, but I'm not sure anybody really cares.
