[QUOTE=Szlater]
I’d like a cite for that, because that sounds incredibly malicious.
[/QUOTE]
Unfortunately, after much searching, it seems I ‘learnt’ this little tidbit from an uncited wikipedia entry. Sorry.
[QUOTE=MJinks]
Unfortunately, after much searching, it seems I ‘learnt’ this little tidbit from an uncited wikipedia entry. Sorry.
[/QUOTE]
Have you got a cite for that? 
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
It’s my understanding he allegedly ran off to Hawaii after kicking his dog. 
[/QUOTE]
No, he didn’t. He came back from Hawaii to kick his dog,…
police say. Then he went back to Hawaii and sold crack cocaine to four-year-olds…
police say.
Are you some kind of apologist for this kind of scum?
[QUOTE=guizot]
Then there’s the typical opening line in newspapers across the States: “Mr. John Doe poisoned his wife and children, dismembered their bodies, and ran off to Hawaii with a 14-year-old boy babysitter, before kicking his dog on the way out the door,…police say.” (For some reason, they never write, “Police accuse Mr. John Doe of poisoning his wife and children, etc.”)
[/QUOTE]
That’s because “police say” isn’t the most interesting part of the lead. The wife-poisoning, child-dismembering, gay ephebophile adulterous relationship, and dog-kicking parts are, so that’s what’s first in the sentence. “Police say . . .” yawn “John Doe is a suspect in the poisoning and dismemberment of his family, according to police officials.” Ooh, gore!
You occasionally see things like, “Metro Police say donut abuse is on the decline among first-year recruits.” Even then, a better way of saying it would probably be “Donut abuse is on the decline among first-year recruits, according to reports released by Metro Police.” Why? Because the story is about donut abuse, not the Metro Police saying donut abuse is on the decline. And with stories as sensational as family killings and underage, homosexual love affairs, you definitely want the juicy stuff up front.
[QUOTE=Szlater]
Not really that relevant to the discussion, just something I found QI.
[/QUOTE]
I thought that one interesting too.
Thanks for the replies, I’ve not kept up with the local news through the tube for a while so I’ve no more recent cites to check this against.