Omar Mateen's slaughter of 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando is only the latest example of this. If no other calamitous or eye-catching event comes along ("'Unimaginable': Toddler's body recovered by divers after alligator attack at Disney resort"), it could, like the San Bernardino shootings, top the news, in all its micro-ramifications and repetitions, for three or four weeks.

Such stories -- especially mass killings, especially those with an aura of terrorism about them -- are particularly easy for strapped, often downsizing news outfits to cover. They are, in a sense, pre-packaged. A template for them is already in place: starting with the breaking news of some horror and soon after a tagline like "America in shock, [grief,] [mourning,] wondering what comes next." Then follow the inevitable grainy smartphone videos of some aspect of the horror as reporters fan out to capture the weeping faces; the brave or tearful accounts of wounded survivors; the backstory on the killer or killers and his or their tangled motivations; commentary from the usual terror (or mass shooting) experts; the latest on the FBI's follow-up investigations; the funerals for the victims, including the comments of grief counselors meant to help a nation "in mourning"; and finally, of course, the issue of "closure" and "healing," all topped -- if "terrorism" is part of the package -- by an endless frisson of horror and fascination when it comes to the influence of ISIS (or allegiance pledged to the same), lone wolves, the role of social media, and so on.