Disclosure: this is a cop-out.

 I spotted the following disclaimer on Mashable this morning:

"Mashable Op-Ed: This post reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily those of Mashable as a publication."

A fine warning, if the author was a contributor who had nothing to do with Mashable. Except the post I saw it used on was written by none other than Mashable's editor-in-chief, Lance Ulanoff. In other words, the guy who is hired to speak for the publication.

If Lance's opinions aren't Mashable's -- which is fine, Lance is an individual -- then who, exactly, speaks for the publication? Corporate communications?

(This reminds me of all those Twitter accounts with the disclosure, "The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of my employer." Clearly! Does any reasonable person really believe that one small cog in the machine really speaks for the 25,000-employee-strong organization?)

In an age where it's acceptable to speak for oneself and not one's publication, does the publication still have a viewpoint?