| rdfs:comment
| - The paranoid assertion above, as it turns out, is more or less true (much more so than the ones Gibson comes up with on his own time, certainly). For reasons that are not entirely clear even to themselves, news media in the United States (print as well as television) go out of their way to make sure every lone gunman and solitary crazed killer is identified by his full name, regardless of how he is called by relatives, friends and neighbors. (The quoted assertion is false, as John Wayne Gacy/Sirhan Sirhan demonstrate.) Examples of Gunman with Three Names include:
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| abstract
| - The paranoid assertion above, as it turns out, is more or less true (much more so than the ones Gibson comes up with on his own time, certainly). For reasons that are not entirely clear even to themselves, news media in the United States (print as well as television) go out of their way to make sure every lone gunman and solitary crazed killer is identified by his full name, regardless of how he is called by relatives, friends and neighbors. According to at least one broadcast journalism writing textbook, the reason for this is that a person is more likely to have the same two-part name as someone else than the same three-part name. So it lets John Henry Booth or Mark Daniel Chapman not have to wonder why everyone is looking at him funny. TV reporters also generally read the police report verbatim, figuring they can't be sued for slander if they merely report what is in a public document. Also note that this might be an American thing -- in most European countries, middle names aren't that common, or used even if people have them, and people in Hispanic countries often have four names. Naming conventions in non-western countries are a whole different topic altogether. Furthermore, in many European countries middle name is often associated with sophistication, so it usually does not suit common criminals, though it can be a part of a Professional Killer's image. Note that this isn't the case for just any handgun-wielding punk who makes the news. It takes a special crime that catches the public's attention. "Ordinary" shooters -- as well as the rare sympathetic figure -- are accorded less formal (and less obsessive) address by the media. An interesting case in point would be that of New York's so-called "Subway Vigilante" in 1984. When his actions were still viewed as a shocking unmotivated attack, the news media consistently referred to him by his full name, "Bernhard Hugo Goetz". However, as his story came out and public opinion shifted more and more in his favor, the news programs began calling him just "Bernhard Goetz" and finally "Bernie". (The quoted assertion is false, as John Wayne Gacy/Sirhan Sirhan demonstrate.) Also note that none of them has an Embarrassing Middle Name. (Then again, would you really laugh at someone about to kill you?) Examples of Gunman with Three Names include:
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