Context Stripping

     One of the things a news story should do, past "who, what, when, where, how," is provide context: a Mob hit done by running the victim over with a car may look just like a pedestrian struck down by a driver busy texting, but an English teacher from Springfield arguing online about WWE wrestlers who flattens an elderly shopper and a "button man" from Hoboken taking out a damaging witness with a stolen Caddy are not, in fact, the same story.

     Early coverage is going to be the same -- "[NAME] was killed at [TIME/DATE] by a hit and run driver while crossing [LOCATION] Street.  Police are seeking...."  Follow-up should tell readers/listeners/viewers more: what notable connections did the victim have to wider events? If the suspected driver is arrested, what is known about him and his circumstances? If he is charged, what are the charges?  Did accused killer and victim know one another?

     There are limits.  News stories aren't trials; you'll notice I wrote "accused killer" in the previous paragraph, not "murderer;" he or she will not be the latter unless they are charged and found guilty -- and in the case of the distracted wresting fan, "manslaughter" is the more likely charge.  Ledes (the first few sentences or opening paragraph) are generally written in neutral language.  It should not be so neutral that it obscures what happened: "Died following a shooting incident" is mealy-mouthed avoidance; the victim was shot and killed, presumably by the accused killer.  This kind of dancing around is most evident when police kill someone -- the facts are often not in much dispute, though circumstances may be murky, but the Press shies away from admitting that yes, sometimes the police kill people, in favor of passive-voice construction in which people are, somehow, killed.

     Of late, this kind of "exonerative" construction has been bleeding over into non-police killings; when a gay voice actor was shot and killed at the site of his family home, itself recently destroyed by fire, after what appear to have been months if not years of conflict with neighbors, news stories have carefully tiptoed around the situation; he's another person said to have "died following a shooting incident," as though a mistaken hunter or some wandering, self-animated firearm shot him, and not a guy from his street, presently in police custody.

     Maybe it's the influence of corporate attorneys, worried about lawsuits; maybe it's just lazy writing.  Maybe they're trying to avoid delving into what appears to be a complicated situation.  But I'm here to tell you, when a person is shot, someone's finger was on the trigger.  Maybe it was a distracted English teacher; maybe it was a hitman.  Maybe it was a homophobe shouting slurs or a hothead annoyed about late-night parties and beer bottles over the fence.  Whatever it was, those things are part of the story and the lede should at least put alleged fingers on real triggers, and not just float the gun in via a telekinetic poltergeist.  It's not too much to ask.