NEWS MEDIA COVERAGE AND THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF HOMICIDE

Objectives. This study assessed how newspaper coverage of homicides co rresponds to the epidemiology of homicide. Methods. Stories in the Los Angeles Times about homicide (n = 2782) were compared with the homici des that occurred in Los Angeles County from 1990 through 1994 (n = 94 42). The generalized linear model assessed how victim, incident, and s uspect characteristics related to coverage. Results. Even when multipl e variables were taken into account, some homicides (those with female , child, or elderly victims; those in which the suspect was a stranger to the victim; those in wealthier neighborhoods) received more covera ge and others (those with Black or Hispanic victims or victims with le ss than a high school education; those committed with nonfirearm weapo ns; those in which the suspect was an intimate of the victim) received less coverage than expected. Conclusions. Some homicides are more new sworthy than others. Potential implications of not providing the publi c with representative data are discussed.