A related issue: A news item that requires the reader to wade through two or three paragraphs of "human interest" stuff before getting to the story itself. A headline, for example, that reads: THREE DEAD IN FREAK ACCIDENT will be followed by a story beginning, "Little did Joe Blow realize when leaving his suburban ranch Tuesday morning that he would..." And on and on. It's my firm belief that news items should start right out with the who/what/when/where details. Reminds me of the network TV ploy, "Where is your tax money really going? Details after these messages about bad breath." Does this have something to do with the perceived attention span of the reader/viewer?

And what is this device called? A grabber?