It's well documented [fte] that news stories about crime rose in the nineties and beyond, as crime rates fell. Whether the dog wagged the tail or the other way

It's well documented [fte] that news stories about crime rose in the nineties and beyond, as crime rates fell. Whether the dog wagged the tail or the other way round is hard to say - certainly during this period of crime decline, popular perception that crime is worse remained steadfast [gallup]. News channels may have been merely amplifying what they noticed their audience wanted to hear; or, they created an atmosphere of paranoia because (as now with the Citizen app), it boosts ratings. Crime is also relatively easy to report, and makes for riveting television. The victims are easy to identify, and interview. There is no complexity because what matters is only the aftermath, rather than what leads up to what ends up being criminal. Perhaps the arsonist in this case was just being exceedingly careless with a campfire BBQ; who cares, when it feels good to find someone to blame them and brand them as "evil"? The reason the US appears to be "on the edge," all the time, is that the media loves creating that narrative. If you saw broadcasts that said, "it's all sorta average here, folks, in fact some things are gradually getting better," why would you tune in the next day? References fte: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/many-americans-are-convinced-crime-is-rising-in-the-u-s-theyre-wrong/ https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/many-americans-are-conv... gallup: https://news.gallup.com/poll/150464/americans-believe-crime-worsening.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/150464/americans-believe-crime-...