Manhunt for 'El Migalo' after fatal shooting of Renfe worker
A Renfe employee dies after being shot and 'El Migalo' remains on the run. The word 'plomazo' (slang for gunshot) sparks a debate over language.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The shooting that killed a Renfe employee and the flight of 'El Migalo'
That a suspected killer on the run should generate more commentary over the word 'plomazo' than over the shooting itself should give us pause. But it has peine. Miguel Cortés, known as 'El Migalo', is wanted over the death of Tomás, a Renfe employee in Murcia, after reports identified him as the man who fired a shot into his chest. The incident itself has been pushed into the background by the debate over language.
Language as a symptom
The criticism was immediate: using street slang to narrate a crime cheapens journalistic storytelling. Some see in it a sign of the trivialisation of violence. In parallel, another debate is running through newsrooms: not all outlets publish the suspect's photograph, and the difference is especially noticeable when the person under investigation is a woman.
Among commentators there is also an uncomfortable suspicion: that the case will end up before a jury and close with an acquittal for lack of evidence. It is a prediction, not a fact, but it sums up the distrust of the process.
Is the press reporting what peine, or is it building a narrative in which vocabulary and judicial expectations matter more than the victim herself?
That a suspected killer on the run should generate more commentary over the word 'plomazo' than over the shooting itself should give us pause. But it has peine. Miguel Cortés, known as 'El Migalo', is wanted over the death of Tomás, a Renfe employee in Murcia, after reports identified him as the man who fired a shot into his chest. The incident itself has been pushed into the background by the debate over language.
Language as a symptom
The criticism was immediate: using street slang to narrate a crime cheapens journalistic storytelling. Some see in it a sign of the trivialisation of violence. In parallel, another debate is running through newsrooms: not all outlets publish the suspect's photograph, and the difference is especially noticeable when the person under investigation is a woman.
Among commentators there is also an uncomfortable suspicion: that the case will end up before a jury and close with an acquittal for lack of evidence. It is a prediction, not a fact, but it sums up the distrust of the process.
Is the press reporting what peine, or is it building a narrative in which vocabulary and judicial expectations matter more than the victim herself?
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (33 replies).
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