March of the pronouns

No peeking now -- who did what to whom? And for bonus points, is there a reason you'd be interested?

His job was to protect him from physical harm.

Now, he's potentially shielding him from a $2.5-million lawsuit.

Lucky thing there's a third graf:

Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee Jr. has landed in the middle of a civil lawsuit that claims former Detroit Pistons star Allen Iverson instigated a bar brawl that left an Ohio man with a permanent eye injury.

It makes more sense in the online version published the previous day:

Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee has come to the defense of former Detroit Pistons star Allen Iverson in a $2.5-million civil lawsuit involving a bar fight.

Sensible enough that -- you know, you wonder why it wasn't in the newspaper, rather than the pronoun feast we got. I think it's the fear of the first-day lede again. The old media are so obsessed with their oldness that they forget something important: News is supposed to be interesting for its own sake. In a procedural event for which the details a day later are identical to the ones in play at the first flush of publication, you might as well get to the point.

For some readers, after all, it's the first time they've seen the story. For others, don't assume that they need the thing dressed up -- especially when fashion design skills are in short supply.