News media coverage and the epidemiology of homicide.

OBJECTIVES

This study assessed how newspaper coverage of homicides corresponds to the epidemiology of homicide.

METHODS

Stories in the Los Angeles Times about homicide (n = 2782) were compared with the homicides that occurred in Los Angeles County from 1990 through 1994 (n = 9442). The generalized linear model assessed how victim, incident, and suspect characteristics related to coverage.

RESULTS

Even when multiple 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 coverage and others (those with Black or Hispanic victims or victims with less than a high school education; those committed with nonfirearm weapons; those in which the suspect was an intimate of the victim) received less coverage than expected.

CONCLUSIONS

Some homicides are more newsworthy than others. Potential implications of not providing the public with representative data are discussed.