I just realized that newspapers sometimes end a person's name with 「さん」： 後藤さん不明、昨年１１月に把握 首相、答弁で明かす：。And then sometimes end a person's name with 「氏」： 自民・山本一太氏、人質事件で与野党結束訴え：。 In this forum, I found this thread What does 氏 mean after a name, how is it different from さん or 様?。 However the accepted answer explains that the difference is 敬語{けいご}。I cannot imagine that the impersonality of a newspaper allows for 敬語？
- What criteria decides whether to end a name with 「氏」 or 「さん」in a newspaper？
Answer
氏 is cut out for public figures and さん is for ordinary people. さん could convey a slightly respectful nuance and that can more or less hurt fairness that newspapers must hold. (I find the order in the link determined firstly in terms of formality and that of respectfulness is secondary.)
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