[nickalaso]

I believe it has something to do with someones level of "institutionalization", or perhaps, how comfortable they are with institutions and authorities themselves.

A PhD holder is a PhD holder, at least in part, because they trusted that the many 1000's of hours of study and hard work they put into to receive a certificate from an institution was worth it. And this is because they, at some level, trust the institution itself.

Presumably this trust can also transfer to other "authorities", like US cable new media companies.