What 1 horrible story from New York says about why we start spreading the news
Dwelling on why several grim seconds on a sidewalk have driven so many headlines
What makes a news story big or small? Worth covering or ignoring? Or, setting aside worthiness, which traits tend to help a story catch fire or fizzle out?
On one hand somebody could devote an entire Substack series to all the storytelling elements, human psychology, financial incentives, and tech trends entangled in this topic.
On the other, we can learn a lot from just one horrible example. This month we’ve seen what drives coverage through the murder of native Iowan Brian Thompson in New York City and his alleged shooter, Luigi Mangione.
I’ve been in numerous conversations about how this epic story continues to unfold, including with fellow former or longtime journalists who likewise obsess over the creation and curation of daily news.
Before going further I need to state what I wish was obvious: The most important sentiment to express is sympathy for Thompson’s family and friends and to wish them as much peace as possible while they grieve. We also should pray for less senseless killing in this world and meditate on ways we can become better beacons of hope in all our communities.
Given that, I’ve also concluded that this tragedy is one of the biggest stories of the year.
There are some obvious secondary factors that made it more prominent:
The shooting took place in downtown Manhattan, not some small town in the hinterlands (I say with reverence and love for this “flyover” Midwest we call home).
The coldly calculated murder, at 6:45 a.m. Dec. 4, was caught on camera—without showing faces or grisly detail, which arguably helped the video circulate more freely across channels. I’ll bet everybody reading this has at least glimpsed those grim seconds on the sidewalk.
The shooter initially escaped, triggering a manhunt and causing the mystery to mount for days.
Yet the shooter’s masked face also was recorded—not to mention his wide smile, only adding to our collective disbelief that he wasn’t more quickly captured. The ubiquitous smile I think also subconsciously triggered our imaginations: What kind of a personality were we really dealing with? What would it be like to unwittingly cross paths with him in a Starbucks?
Thompson was CEO of Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare, one of the largest health insurers familiar to workplaces everywhere.
We can always cite the enduring popularity of “true crime” as a genre.
Much more could be discussed, such as how the central figures’ identities (race, gender, etc.) factor in.
But this story’s essential rocket fuel is in how it symbolizes or crystalizes broader issues.
In a single horrible, violent act, this murder represents so much of the economic and class dispute rippling through our society, including in recent elections.
With Mangione we have a son of privilege as the alleged shooter and instrument of outrage—an Ivy Leaguer who apparently fell from grace.
With Thompson we have a victim who emerged from the relative obscurity of rural America to work his way to the C-suite.
I’ve been sickened by the online cheerleading for the shooter, underscoring all the problems burdening us daily with our social-media cesspool and polarized politics. But it’s true that a story doesn’t get much more universal than the costs and complexities of health care. This sad tale immediately became a vehicle for Americans to vent their outrage over whatever they’ve suffered in our health system. Not only did the shooting seem to trigger vile (and incredibly public and unashamed) comments, we had the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” written in Sharpie on bullet casings to suggest avenues of commentary.
Once again, I feel like I have to state what I wish was obvious: I also have deep sympathy for everybody struggling to stay healthy or pay for the medical care they so desperately need. But those solutions have nothing to do with guns and murder.
Back to the elements of this story: Any time you can represent such a vast narrative universe in a concise dramatic act with such vivid detail—down to words of retribution scrawled on bullets—the story is likelier to take flight.
From existential struggles with health care to how we feel about our access to the American dream, this story basically taps into the essential arc of all our lives.
To be clear, this isn’t a moral judgement on the worthiness of this story versus another, or a comparison of the value of one life to another. Every life is precious. Too many stories are left untold. Dozens of other murder victims this year in New York are no less worthy of coverage.
But I understand why this story continues to resonate.
The toppling of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria technically is a much bigger story with no shortage of horror yet to be revealed and geopolitical implications for generations. But a tightly focused narrative featuring two main characters tends to win over vast sagas with sprawling timelines and tendrils everywhere.
Because of my career path I can’t help but dwell on the ebb and flow of news.
But to state the obvious one more time: Our main takeaway here should be working together with greater urgency to secure a more compassionate and peaceful world.
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