Hide yo' wife, hide yo' kids - they kidnappin' errebody!

[patrick1]

Why?  While tragic on a personal level for the people directly affected, the sad fact is that this isn't news.

4 kidnapped and murdered Israeli teenagers wasn't news.  1 Palestinian kidnapped and murdered and it's thread worthy.  Rockets from Gaza, not news.  Israel kills a handful of bad guys in response, the Third Intifada just begun!  More rockets, not news.

Agreed.  They're not news.  They're titillating factoids that represent absolutely no change in what has been going on.

Ignoring Gully's whinging, at what point does it become news?

When something that changes the status quo happens.  The ebb and tide of rock and rocket throwing and the events surrounding that aren't news.  Once you get settlements being evacuated, or the Zionists deciding its time to ethnically cleanse the whole West Bank (rather that simply grabbing a few pieces of land here and there) then it'll be news.

Devils advocate:  Was it readily apparent that the assassination of a certain Archduke would have such an impact?  The conditions are volatile enough that a small war could break out and then grow, true they are always there but all it needs is a spark. I'll quit before I mix some more metaphors and bring in other unrelated historical scenarios.