But lately newsrooms seem to have gone from being largely dispassionate dispensers of the news to making headlines themselves. It has gotten downright soap opera-ish.

"Fists Fly at the Washington Post."

"Explosive Charges of Racism, Sexism at the New York Post."

That headline followed the firing of an editor who had objected to a controversial cartoon featuring a dead monkey that many thought (myself included) symbolized President Obama. The fired editor, Sandra Guzman, has sued, making all kinds of eyebrow-raising accusations about racist and misogynistic behavior at the New York tabloid.

The latest newsroom drama, though, happened at the Washington Times where armed guards reportedly have been brought in following the firing of several top executives. Politico.com reported yesterday that the floor of the Washington Times' building where top management works is being guarded following the removal of several top executives in some type of murky, high-level family feud.

Come again?

When did what happens inside certain news operations become as juicy as the stories on the newspages themselves? At the Washington Post, the fight apparently happened after a reporter called a Pulitzer Prize-winning editor a c---s----- and the editor took a swing at him. They wound up tussling on the floor before the fracas was broken up.

I worked briefly at the Post before coming to the Daily News and can't imagine a reporter and editor going at it like that over a story, and then having the top editor intervene. But these are particularly difficult days in the industry. Newsrooms are stressed. The business model has tanked. People are losing jobs.

Here in Philadelphia, an auction is pending on Wednesday for the Daily News and Inquirer as part of our ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.

In an industry in which turmoil has become the norm, there's talk of the need for government intervention.

"I do think it is true that tensions are rising in a lot of newsrooms, because it's more difficult to do the work that journalists want to do," said Julie Moos, who edits the popular online Romenesko journalism gossip column published by the Poynter Institute. "I do think there's a greater intensity in some ways in some newspapers right now. The stakes feel higher . . . It wouldn't surprise me if people were a little less patient with each other.

"In a lot of places tensions are running high."

I'm not one who boo-hoos the death of the good old days of the newspaper business. When I look back at those times, I can never get past the lack of diversity that was the norm in most newsrooms. Nor can I forget about all the obstacles that existed in terms of the hiring and promoting of women and minorities.

What's happening now is that the industry is in transition. When the proverbial dust settles, there's still going to be a need for what journalists do, whether online or in paper form. The challenge, though, is to get from here to there - without becoming too much a part of the story.

Send e-mail to heyjen@phillynews.com. My blog:

http://go.philly.com/heyjen.