Oh, AP. Oh AP, AP, AP.

[spatch]

Remember when we could count on the Associated Press to write articles on even the worst of calamities with a non-sensationalistic bent? Remember when they had their own style guide? Remember those halcyon days of yesteryear? Yeah, well, you can go pack all your happy memories up and put 'em in the same place you put the pet rock, Brutalist architecture and chlorophyl toothpaste. I know this is an isolated incident, but this will give you some idea of what passes for quality control around there nowadays. Someone decided to get a little poetic (and horribly at that) in their account of the mall shootings in Omaha:

Hawkins carried out his shooting spree from the third floor of the Westroads Mall, the bullets from his rifle cutting through the sound of Christmas music as he terrorized shoppers and employees.

IT'S THIS MUSIC! HE HATES THIS MUSIC!
STAY AWAY FROM THE MUSIC!

Comments

[zhym.livejournal.com]

Yeah, what that kind of line really says is, "Hot dang, all this time stuck in Nebraska is finally gonna pay off -- come to papa, Pulitzer!"

That, and I think it's easier for more seasoned national reporters to avoid becoming overwhelmed by the event. A good reporter has to shrug off some of the "holy crap" personal emotional impact and report the facts, at least in the first story.