Dan Rather is stepping down after 24 years in the CBS anchor chair. Last December, his NBC counterpart, Tom Brokaw, retired after 22 years at the helm of NBC’s nightly broadcast.

The depth of coverage by the Washington press corps has ebbed and flowed over the years. The associate historian of the U.S. senate, Donald Ritchie, has just written a history of journalists in the nation’s capitol since 1932. It’s full of anecdotes and explorations of how the Washington press corps has evolved.

Hear a discussion about news reporting from Washington, what’s changed and what’s stayed the same during the past century of political journalism.

Guests:

Donald Ritchie, associate historian of the United States Senate

Jay Rosen, associate professor of journalism at New York University

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst and senior editor at the Atlantic Monthly.