Within minutes of the massacre at Virginia Tech the massacre at Virginia Tech had a logo, courtesy of CNN. You could tell it was a logo because it had a different typeface to all the other news – a distressed version of American typewriter if I’m not mistaken - and half of the words were contained in a bright red box. As if we needed to be reminded the color of this awful tragedy.

Except now it wasn’t just a tragedy, it was a promotion for the network. One can only imagine the process. While the rest of the country was in shock and the families of the victims were being given the worst news imaginable, the graphic designers of CNN were debating kerning and pantone references.

When news outlets feel the need to dress-up the news, it’s no longer news, it’s marketing.