[normy]

I don't think the reporter is famous enough or important enough to be "assassinated". Kennedy was assassinated. Lincoln was assassinated. I even heard that John Lennon was assassinated (although I would say he was just killed). You're OK.

[speedy]

You raise a good point, normy, one I have pondered myself in idle moments. What does your status have to be to earn the assassination moniker? I used to think you had to be a high-ranking political figure, but of course we refer to Martin Luther King as having been assassinated, and an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. Leon Trotsky is usually just said to have been murdered, likewise Che Guevera, even though they were both influential (albeit disgusting) political figures. Yes, I have heard of Lennon being referred to as assassinated, the only musician so honored as far as I know. Guess you have to be a Beatle. Nobody ever said Marvin Gaye was assassinated by his father. Hmmm, haven't there been some stories saying Theo Van Gogh was assassinated? Pym Fortuyn definitely gets that title, even though he was only running for high office. Somebody needs to clear this up. Might as well be FR.

[William Terrell]

I even heard that John Lennon was assassinated (although I would say he was just killed).

I've always preferred to think of John Lennon as having been "taken out".