"We cover planes that crash, not planes that take off."
It always fascinates me how much my world view and the world view of those around me is based on the exceptional and not the mundane. The news outlets report the news assuming that the audience knows what's normal. When the news is used to become informed about the world many people come away with a skewed impression of reality. I am of the opinion that people would be better served by news reports that provide context to explain why the news is in fact news.
Here's some context I find interesting:
According to the CDC:
Americans murdered per year: 16,121
Americans killed in car accidents per year: 33,804
Americans killed by smoking related diseases per year: 480,000
It always fascinates me how much my world view and the world view of those around me is based on the exceptional and not the mundane. The news outlets report the news assuming that the audience knows what's normal. When the news is used to become informed about the world many people come away with a skewed impression of reality. I am of the opinion that people would be better served by news reports that provide context to explain why the news is in fact news.
Here's some context I find interesting:
According to the CDC:
Americans murdered per year: 16,121
Americans killed in car accidents per year: 33,804
Americans killed by smoking related diseases per year: 480,000
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/homicide.htm http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/accidental-injury.htm http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast_...