for hours in darkness

just watched the latest episode of The Wire and saw that Gus Haynes, the fictive city editor of the Baltimore Sun, had this headline taped to his computer:

Many Are Trapped for Hours In Darkness and Confusion

it's from the New York Times, looks like, after the first World Trade Center bombing.

so: is it a shout-out? or is it a snarky commentary, a sidelong glance at the Gray Lady, a grammatolatric in-joke? or is it beyond that, even – and are they being profound?

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