Although I will always be a defender of my fellow journalists and the hard work so many of them do so diligently, by the same token I will also always be a media critic.
And one of the issues that is chronically distorted in most media coverage is crime. The problem is that standard media crime coverage not only sensationalizes violent events, it often creates the impression that such events are rampant when they aren’t.
Don’t get me wrong, even one murder is too many, so there are way too many murders in our communities, but the rate of violent crime including homicides in most parts of the country is way down from historical levels.
You’d never know that from much of the media coverage, however. As I noted in my essay 'Awash in Crime?’ a few weeks ago, national coverage of the killing of tech executive Bob Lee portrayed the city of San Francisco as if its residents were enduring a rampage of violent crime, when in fact the opposite is true — there is a very low rate of violent crime in that city.
Lee’s death was a tragic, isolated event but people could be forgiven for thinking that San Francisco’s big issues like drug addiction, homelessness, poverty, mental illness, and property crimes were the cause of some (imaginary) tsunami of killings.
It’s not that the actual issues are not serious — they are — but media coverage obfuscates them in favor of sensationalism, and we all suffer from a distorted sense of reality as a result.
It is in that context that I recommend today’s top link — a report from KQED’s Alex Hall. This type of careful, detailed coverage brings out the gritty realities we need to confront, including the root causes of the actual violence plaguing our communities.
The kind that rarely makes the headlines.
Think about it.
LINKS:
A Teen Mother and Her Baby Were Murdered in a Gang-Related Shooting. Their Family Wants Answers (KQED)
Clarence Thomas Had a Child in Private School. Harlan Crow Paid the Tuition. (ProPublica)
Russia claims the U.S. is behind the alleged Ukrainian drone attack on the Kremlin (NBC)
Death of man who was placed in chokehold on New York City subway ruled a homicide (CBS)
Biden wants McConnell at the debt ceiling table, despite (or because of) their history (Politico)
Jack Lew had a front-row seat to debt ceiling fights under Obama. Here's his advice (NPR)
Is the Debt Limit Constitutional? Biden Aides Are Debating It. (NYT)
Lawmakers throw cold water on short-term debt limit hike (The Hill)
We’re pulling out the 2011 market playbook to navigate the current debt-ceiling debacle (CNBC)
FTC Proposes Barring Meta From Monetizing Young Users’ Data (WSJ)
US, Mexico agree on tighter immigration policies at border (AP)
Fed raises interest rate 0.25 percentage point, but could be ready to pause (CBS)
National test scores show decline in history and civics proficiency (Politico)
Carlson’s Text That Alarmed Fox Leaders: ‘It’s Not How White Men Fight’ (NYT)
Prosecutors near charging decision in Hunter Biden case (WP)
Ukraine denies Russian claim Kyiv sent drones to hit Kremlin (AP)
Spike in Russian combat deaths fuels fears of worse carnage to come (WP)
"It begins": Wagner Group leader says Ukrainian Armed Forces launch offensive (Ukrayinska Pravda)
Poland and Germany: the feud at the heart of Europe (Financial Times)
Shipping Giant Maersk Drops Deep Sea Mining Investment (WSJ)
VIDEO: ‘No Contracts, No Scripts,’ Hollywood Writers Begin Strike (AP, Reuters)
UN chief says ‘not the right time’ to engage with Taliban (Al Jazeera)
'Godfather of AI' says AI could kill humans and there might be no way to stop it (CNN)
China's AI industry barely slowed by US chip export rules (Reuters)
As Writers Strike, AI Could Covertly Cross the Picket Line (Hollywood Reporter)
Researchers See Through a Mouse's Eyes by Decoding Brain Signals (Gizmodo)
Lyft’s CEO defends laying off 1,100 employees as a way to keep prices down and pay drivers more: ‘We want to be in line with where Uber is’ (AP)
Stripe, a longtime partner of Lyft, signs a big deal with Uber (TechCrunch)
The number of tech workers in the Bay Area slated to be laid off in 2023 has already exceeded the number of people in tech who were cut in 2022. (Mercury News)
Nordstrom is the latest retailer to leave San Francisco (CNN)
Virologist investigates Huanan seafood market's SARS-CoV-2 origins: Unexpected genetic connections revealed (Medical.net)
The most mysterious forests on Earth are underwater — Kelp forests are majestic, life-sustaining ecosystems. Climate change imperils them. (Vox)
Modern humans migrated into Europe in 3 waves, 'ambitious and provocative' new study suggests (LiveScience)
Updated college football Top 25 Power Rankings: Spring edition (ESPN)
Woman Tragically Succumbs To Natural Hair Color (The Onion)
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