Media isn't monolithic. Local media tends to ignore or downplay crime--I think in part because the writers are either insulated from it or have their own politi

Media isn't monolithic. Local media tends to ignore or downplay crime--I think in part because the writers are either insulated from it or have their own political biases. National media plays up the crime because they like to use SF as a whipping horse to say "see don't be like SF or your city will have full blown anarchy". SF is actually a huge anchor on national progressives because republicans can always point to SF and show how poorly policies have played out. If SF was as clean/safe as Copenhagen, it'd be a lot harder to make that argument. SF progressives are a different breed altogether though--it's all about scolding people and identity politics to distract from meaningful policies like universal healthcare, elder/child-care, etc.