So I ran across this interesting article on Reddit this morning.
It seems the stats that were released during the hysteria of mass shooting may be very much exaggerated or just out right incorrect. Also, ran across another article from NPR while walking through this rabbit hole talking about school shootings.
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/08/27/640323347/the-school-shootings-that-werent
A good read on some of the fundamental drives in the media business that have popped up in the past few decades:
Well worth reading - even if you have to use Incognito mode to get around Medium’s semi-paywall.
TL;DR version: the highly competitive news media marketplace has lead to an erosion of the beloved ‘standards’ of days past, forcing the news media to chase market share with what actually works - and that’s selling anxiety which is easily done by stoking the fires of the culture war, whichever side your audience falls on.
+1 AKA - borderline, if not outright sensationalism. I believe the ability to speak your mind in a public forum and be heard that’s brought about by the internet and the rise of non-traditional media has a good deal to do with this.