Notice anything missing?

There's certainly a lot of information packed into this display, No. 6 or so on the Fox News homepage Sunday evening. We learn, for example, that the suspect's car has been found, that there are bullet holes in a victim's windows (and, if you didn't know already, that a lawmaker had been assassinated), and that Fox still has no earthly idea how to use the subordinator "as" without sounding like a moron.

The meta-clues help signal how important the story is: Three writers share the byline, and three more are credited in a shirttail. Fox sticks closely to standard dateline rules, so the Minneapolis dateline means somebody's on the scene. And there's information there as well -- after a fashion. But aside from Fox's usual fascination with death porn (EWW BULLETS COOL), it seems largely procedural:

MINNEAPOLIS – New photos show gaping holes in the windows of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark's home in Brooklyn Park following a Saturday morning shooting that left them both dead.

Federal and local authorities continue to search tirelessly for suspect Vance Luther Boelter, who is accused of killing Hortman and her husband. He is also accused of shooting State Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, in their nearby Champlin home.

Photos show massive holes in several of the Hortmans' windows on the back side of the house while other windows and their garage door have been boarded up.

Plenty of signals that the search is important: it already has its own adverb, and it's being ramped up. (By Monday, it should be time for a "desperate search"). The holes aren't just gaping, they're massive. But check out what we aren't learning. If the "also" in the second graf looks a bit out of sorts there, let's flash back to how the top story looked late Saturday morning.

At its first appearance, around 11:15 a.m. Eastern,* it looks pretty standard. The UK-style claim quotes on "shot by gunman posing as police officer" are cool but not that extraordinary (whoever writes the "cheeky snap" heds on pictures of celebrities proving that Age Is Just A Number might have drawn a bad shift this week). All in all, as promised, a "breaking news" story.

Half an hour later, it's the same event, but somehow not the same story. In agenda-setting terms, we're still learning, but we're learning different stuff with different salience values. Similarly, after he welter of procedural details on Sunday -- sheriff's office confirms car found! Residents urged to use caution! Tow truck arrives empty, leaves with vehicle! Senator shares text! -- an update (search described as "fluid"!) gets around to suggesting some cause-and-effect, a little, in the last graf:

Officials said Boelter had signs in his vehicle that read "No Kings." Cities across the United States had "No Kings" protests — expressing disapproval of the Trump administration's ICE raids — scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

Seems a bit late and more than a few bucks short, given what professional news organizations have been able to report (he's an evangelical and a Trump fan, and the vehicle also had a notebook with "the names of abortion rights advocates and health care officials") and given Fox's usual obsession with ... what's that headline from 2023?

Jan. 1
Suspect in machete attack on NYPD reportedly wrote manifesto to family

March 27
Christian school massacre suspect identified as transgender, police found maps, manifesto

April 6
Suspect with manifesto, school layout had plans to commit multiple school shootings

April 20
Why one Nashville official calls school shooter's manifesto 'astronomically dangerous'

May 4
Police group sues for release of Nashville shooting suspect's manifesto

May 17
Police group sides with school in lawsuit over Nashville school shooter manifesto release

May 19
Expert reveals twisted reasons why mass murderers leave behind manifestos

Dec. 9
Nashville police hit wall in hunt for leaker of trans school shooter's manifesto

OK, a few from 2024 too:

June 6
Suspected serial killer's meticulous manifesto revealed as body count climbs

Dec. 12
What the suspected CEO killer's manifesto reportedly said about the health insurance company

If the Mike Lees and Bernie Morenos of the world seem to have a clear field for -- what's that, The Independent? -- "feverish conspiracy theories," Fox certainly doesn't seem interested in opening the window for some fresh air, manifesto-wise. 


* Yes Fox was a bit tardy getting to the story