But over the past generation, huge packets of power have transferred from those bosses to their workers. This shift — made palpable this week by NBC News’ abrupt dismissal of former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel after NBC News reporter Chuck Todd and the newsroom protested her hiring — has dramatically altered newsroom dynamics.

“In 35 years of covering the media, I have never seen a newsroom revolt like the one at NBC/MSNBC,” tweeted press critic David Zurawik. It was a little bit of an overstatement, but what is true today is that top editors, who once assigned and published pieces, hired and fired journalists, and set newsroom policy with minimal pushback from the staff, now face wild uprisings if they steer a course that riles enough newsroom employees. The bosses haven’t lost control, but they’re no longer completely in charge, and that is changing the way journalism gets done.