>>>Also in the equation is middle/upper managers who are hell bent at taking the authority from the Captains...
As the article indicates, dispatchers have that problem also... When something like this occurs (more commonly regarding MX items that will cancel/delay flights) management types start hovering, with escalating degrees of pressure to keep things moving as sked.
The AA dispatcher involved is to be commended for her actions, both on the day of the event, and her subsequent efforts to keep her crews informed of the raw info, unfiltered by management desires. If people will recall, the United dispatcher working UA175 (WTC) sent ACARS messages to all his flights, including UA93 (PA), and you have to wonder if he got the same flak from his management.
As far as I'm concerned, if I get the info, *you* get the info, and we discuss it and concur on a plan of action. The only 2 signatures on the dispatch release are that of the PIC and dispatcher, not management types, and their role, IMHO, is purely advisory in nature. Neither is there any reason for dispatch management to be in direct communications with the PIC, potentially circumventing the joint-responsibility process.