Late last month, the Drudge Report posted an incendiary, if characteristic, headline: “88-year-old WWII vet beaten to death by two black teens.”

The headline linked to a local news story from Washington State. The original piece’s headline read similarly: “WWII vet, beaten by teens outside Eagles Lodge, dies.”

The one wee difference: Race. Drudge’s headline featured it. The KXLY-TV story that drew Drudge’s attention did not. The physical appearance of the attackers only appeared low in the story, in connection with the manhunt for the alleged attackers. “Spokane police are looking for two male suspects in the attack,” the report said. “They said the suspects are African Americans between 16 and 19 years old.”

In so doing, the station hewed to the standards of most newsrooms. The Associated Press Stylebook says journalists should mention a person’s race only in cases in which police are seeking a criminal suspect or when race is clearly relevant to the story. The rule specifically addresses crime stories: “The race of a person convicted of a crime is not pertinent unless the case has racial overtones; if it does, the overtones should be explained.”