The “why” is always the trickiest of the five “W”s of journalism. We are more than a week downrange of the horrific crimes that Vance Boelter has been accused of in Minnesota. And we have little insight into his motivation(s), beyond the obvious killing of Democratic politicians.
Since the first hours after the crime spree, reports of a “manifesto” left behind by the killer have circulated. Late Friday, bits of the manifesto’s contents began to leak out, without shedding any real light on the underlying causes.
I get that headline writing is an art. The famous front page of the April 15, 1983, edition of the New York Post, “Headless body in topless bar,” may never be surpassed.
I am also aware that most readers don’t get past the headlines, a conclusion reinforced in study after study. So, it’s crucial that the headline get to the heart of the matter.
The headlines published regarding the manifesto ran the spectrum from completely misleading to spot on. I reprint a sample in that order,
- Daily Beast: MAGA Madman Vance Boelter Blames Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for His Murderous Rampage
- U.K. Daily Mail: Minnesota shooting suspect Vance Boelter makes wild Tim Walz claim in ‘incoherent’ letter to the FBI
- New York Daily News: Vance Boelter claims plot by Gov. Walz in confession letter to FBI
- Minneapolis Star Tribune: Boelter’s letter to FBI says he needed to kill Klobuchar for Walz
- New York Post: Minnesota accused assassin Vance Boelter claimed in ‘incoherent’ letter that Gov. Tim Walz instructed him to kill Sen. Amy Klobuchar
Keep in mind, that every single headline above purports to describe the exact same underlying document.
No surprisingly, the New York Post hits closest to the mark, although the headline gets a little wordy. FWIW, had you relied on the Daily Beast, you would have come to the exact opposite conclusion of what was intended by the manifesto’s author.
Rather than getting to the bottom of “why,” the Star Tribune is now tossing it into a bigger bin of political violence. The headline,
Vance Boelter, Luigi Mangione and how ‘violent populism’ is rattling Minnesota
From today,
The federal charges describe eerily similar crimes: Well-planned assassinations by seemingly everyday citizens with no serious criminal history targeting the political and socioeconomic infrastructure of America.
And the targets of those assassinations were Minnesotans.
The Star Tribune provides details,
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson of Maple Grove was shot dead last December on the streets of New York City, leading to a five-day manhunt and the arrest of Luigi Mangione.
On June 14, in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis, a gunman shot and killed state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and seriously wounded Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. Two days later, Vance Boelter was arrested.
Prosecutors allege Mangione and Boelter believed the murders carried a greater meaning.
What is that meaning? The remainder of the article reaches no discernable conclusion other than a need to better understand “underlying causes.”
Ah, the “root causes” defense. And to think that I began this post encouraging readers to get beyond media headlines. Never mind.
