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08 January 2016

J-School 101: Just Cologning around, eh?

It's a strange sort of reporting when you consistently only get one part of the story...
According to investigators, 17-year-old Joseph Petit had just returned home from a walk with his German shepherd on Detonia Park Avenue at around 6 p.m. Monday when he was met by two males outside his home, located in the area of Danforth and Victoria Park avenues.

After a brief conversation, police say a struggle ensued and one of the two males shot Petit.
All those details, including the fact that the gunmen casually walked off toward Victoria Park subway station... but no physical descriptors of the shooters.

Funny how that works.

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UPDATE: "Just the facts, ma'am"
"The suspects are described as wearing jackets with fur-trimmed hoods."
Well, that certainly narrows things down.

All the news stories bear down on the fact that this young man had taken his dog for a walk earlier. The reporting is not about actual relevant data. It seems to be about ginning up a groundswell of sympathy for the deceased, while simultaneously avoiding any mention of facts that might actually identify the killers. The reporting might just as well be focusing on what the deceased had for breakfast.

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