A Swimmingly Good Question

And one I only have the inklings of an answer to.  Add to big list of "how to we study this"? From Atrios:

In the Swampland comments, Karen's saying that how can you suggest that the mainstream media ignored this story [Pentagon propagandists] when it was front page of the Washington Post.

It is a mystery, though, isn't it. Some stories land front page of the Washington Post and then just sort of disappear, never to be heard from again. Some light up the Drudge siren, get talked about nonstop on cable news, breathless Politico reports, follow up stories, editorials, coverage in weekly news magazines.

And no one in the press quite understands how this happens. Some stories magically take flight, and some don't. It's all very strange.