Infamy of a killer

MARY McNAMARA’S entertaining article on the fleeting nature of fame [“The 15-Second Syndrome . . . ,” Dec. 16] had an unintended effect: By naming the Omaha mall killer (twice, and on the front page yet), it gave him 15 minutes more fame than he’d already received. Just when I’d almost forgotten him, there he is again, back from the rot!

That said, I’m proposing a new piece of media legislation. Whenever a despicable soul kills for fame, adopt Prince’s idea of changing names to symbols. The resulting headline would read “Teen Killer, Ω, Strikes Omaha Mall.” That way, he’s denied access even into the cerebral cortex of infamy. Only exception: If they’re famous to begin with, all bets are off. Gotta keep tabs on those folks.

Dan Frischman

Burbank