Shootings and the Media

Recently, there has seemed to have been an increase in major shootings and other tragic events. Or, at least that's how it seems. The reason that it seems as if there has been an increase in shootings is mainly because the media has just been making big stories about them. Seven people are shot every hour  in the United States, according to the CDC. But the media doesn't cover those stories that kill more lives in total than does the single shooting they decide to cover.

So the question is why does the media prioritize certain events over others, and how do they decide which ones to cover? My hypothesis is that they only cover the stories that will get viewers stuck on their station, which therefore increases the amount of money that they make. For instance, the reason stations covered the Newtown shootings way more in depth than the New Orleans Mothers' shootings was because they could capture the audience better.

It is easier to connect to viewers' attention when those who were killed were innocent schoolchildren as opposed to adults. Though both were extremely tragic events that both should be mourned and have action taken to prevent similar outbursts in the future, Newtown was covered more extensively.

This pattern of only covering certain events is concerning because it underscores the importance of the other. Why do you think that the media prioritizes certain events over others?