Where did this come from?

A Denver-area news junkie writes to the Rocky Mountain News:

I'd also like to see him announce that all stories published in the News will include the names of not only the authors, but also the editors and headline writers who processed the stories and columns. If individual editors and copy editors are held as accountable for the completeness and integrity of the editorial product as bylined reporters and columnists are, we might get a better product, and the News might win a bigger audience.

I wonder where this idea came from, that copy editors are loafing about, not worrying about their jobs because their name is on them to keep them accountable. I know some university papers would credit the copy editor at the end of the piece. But, really, the point is for us to remain invisible.