The factory of causalities, at the service of Peinado

There is a scene from Stanley Kubrick's The Shining that always chills my blood. The cook Halloran is talking to the child Danny about the sinister hotel where he will have to spend the winter, cut off from the world. In the background, half out of focus, are some knives hanging on a column, and the composition of the frame subtly makes them point towards the poor child's head. It's one of those details that you might overlook on a first viewing – even though your subconscious picks up the sense of threat – but afterwards you can only see those points directed at the innocence embodied by the little character, and it's unbearable.

In journalism, one can work in a similar way, with creative juxtapositions that imbue intention. Let's look at this headline from El Mundo: “The CGPJ examines Peinado today under government pressure”. It suggests that if the magistrate ends up receiving a reprimand, it will have been by the grace of the executive. This is insisted upon in one of the subheadings: “After Marlaska's complaint, an urgent meeting is convened over a possible 'lack of consideration'”. This sentence creates a cause-and-effect relationship gratuitously and without proof. Indeed, there is a complaint, and indeed, afterwards, there is the beginning of the proceedings. But the existence of the protest does not invalidate that the General Council of the Judiciary is doing what it would have done anyway. In fact, twenty-four hours earlier, one of the subheadings was “The investigating judge prohibits Begoña López from leaving the country and angers the police by stating that her escorts can help her escape”. On the other hand, the newspaper would not think of writing “Proceedings against Peinado after police complaints”. This use of the word “after” are the knives the journalist leaves in the background, as if unintentionally. Because they know they do the job. Discreet, but sharp.