Closure

I always know when news stories start. They occupy significant space on the front page.

All different types of stories. For example:

Politics: Democrats made significant traction before and during the 2004 election by accusing Vice President Dick Cheney of holding Energy Committee hearings in secret because he invited in his oil industry buddies to let them write the energy laws. Democrats sued to get access to the meeting notes. Front page news.

War: Liberals in general, and anti-war liberals in particular, made a lot of the story of the U.S. Marine who entered a room and shot and killed an Iraqi laying on the floor. NBC camermen filmed the exchange. Despite movements that could be interpreted as life threatening, liberals chose the interpretation that the shooting was unjustified and demanded a court martial. Front page news.

Personal Interest: an FBI task force asked the public for help in locating an abused girl who showed up on the internet in more than 200 anonymous child porn photos. Tipsters identified one room she was in as a popular resort hotel. But where was she now? Front page news.

I don't always know when these stories reach closure. Often, as with these three stories above, they are only covered in small inocuous articles deep inside the paper. Had I not been reading closely I might not have known how these stories concluded.

Dick Cheney was exonerated 8 - 0 by an appeals court.

The U.S. Marine was acquitted, with the shooting judged to be justified.

And the little internet girl was found safe. Thank God.