In communication, every foreground channel has a background channel. THe foreground channel is for public, authority, official, communication-of-record. In time, this channel erodes in value as ass-covering and vogueing behavior overtakes Background channel is for gossip, for leaks, for unnofficial communication. In time, this channel comes to embody the “truth” that is hidden behind the artifice. Once the value of the background channel eclipses the value of the foreground channel, it becomes a (new) foreground channel. A new background channel will appear as a signal that this change has occurred.