"Sniper kills dozens around Wash. DC. Kid shoots neighbors and then anyone standing on the street as he drives away. Man kills college instructors and then himself. Newspapers and TV news love stories about murder and death because we watch and are fascinated (therefore enabling them to sell advertising). The world is a dangerous place - we could get shot, run over or might buy something we don't need after watching a story about a murderer. Is there something about this that doesn't seem to make sense?

The problem with News is that while a story may be fascinating (especially to our naturally morbid curiosity), News is seldom the truth. The problem has to do with the way certain facts of life are abstracted from their context, as if outside that context their true meaning will survive. [Read More at Hermit's Weblog]