Murder in the News: An Inside Look at How Television Covers Crime

What makes one murder a major news story and another a footnote? Why do we all know the name Trayvon Martin but so many others fall by the wayside, never making a national impact?

Murder in the News is a two-fold narrative about news coverage, not only exploring how the local media in Chicago handles the numerous murders to be covered on a weekly basis but utilizing those lessons to explain how ratings, limited airtime, and sensationalism all contribute to how murders are covered nationally.

For the first few chapters, the book is a bit one-note, hammering home the same points over and over again. Thankfully, it breaks out of that rut later by polling Chicago newscasters about specific aspects of news stories and which are more likely to make the air. Jordan then builds upon those conceits, looking at the perception of good guys versus bad guys (and bad guys versus bad guys) to further explain how certain murders never achieve mainstream coverage.

It’s sobering, to say the least, but also very informative. After all, in a world where journalism is under fire and truth itself is on trial, it’s important to understand how the news becomes the news.