In Los Angeles, Hearst's Examiner assigned twelve reporters to a sex murder, glamorously christened it the Black Dahlia case. On the rival Daily News, an anonymous city-room hand posted a catalogue of helpful cliches:
"The following usages are a must for anyone handling the Elizabeth Short case. . . . What are the police? Baffled, hard-pressed, grim-faced, tightlipped. What is the victim? Beautiful, dark-haired, pretty. . . . What sort of crime is it? Fiendish. How was the body mutilated? Horribly. . . . What are members of the victim's family? Grief-stricken. When...
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