In the past couple years I’ve sensed a trend toward news reports telling us that some party in the story could not be reached for comment.  We’ve always heard the phrase “no comment” in the news, but lately I’ve seen more phrases like “did not return calls seeking comment” and “could not be reached.”

I may just be noticing this for the first time, or it may really be a trend in this direction.  (Reporters being more specific?  Trying not to bother people more than necessary to print the story?  Perhaps people just have an easier time avoiding the press in an era of cell phones and caller ID.)

Either way, this seems to be the pinnacle (for now) of this type of remark, from the Daily Briefing section of this morning’s Boston Globe:

A 22-year-old man with cerebral palsy was left on a school bus by a driver on New Year’s Eve and spent the entire frigid night alone.

…

Calls to a possible number for the bus company were picked up by an answering machine that would not accept messages.

Wow.  Calls to a possible number were picked up by an answering machine that wouldn’t accept messages.