Panama Papers Leak Signals a Shift in Mainstream Journalism

WASHINGTON— Four years passed between The New York Times’s first article based on the Pentagon Papers and the end of the Vietnam War.

Two years passed between The Washington Post’s first story establishing Richard M. Nixon’s link to the Watergate burglary and Nixon’s resignation from the presidency.

Last week, Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson of Iceland couldn’t make it 48 hours before having to step aside after the disclosure of the shady bank dealings contained in the Panama Papers, some of which involve him.