Page 12 - January 2020 IIssue new year

The Spectrum of Death: Perspective on News Coverage

reports. Heart (including circulatory conditions)
- 807,000 B
Consider, though, that a mass shooting Lung (including influenza) - 258,000 R

can trigger hours of continuous cover- Brain (including stroke) - 120,000 O
age, and a commercial airplane crash Other Organs (liver, kidney, prostate, W

can merit mention for days, weeks and digestive) - 96,000 A
even months. In contrast, we may have Other Conditions (diabetes, other infec- R
not seen a news spot or special report tions, anemia) - 172,000 D

on non-celebrity drowning or suicide in The average age for these causes gener-
the last month or year, and if so, a rela- ally exceeds 65, to the degree that offers U

tively brief mention. We may remember a perspective. Notably, the 2014 data N
a sporadic in-depth report on pre-natal show 50 thousand deaths from these I
deaths or birth defects, but likely never causes for individuals between 15 and V

a current news spot reporting the deaths 45, and 400 thousand deaths for individ- E
of that day on those causes. Rarely if uals between 45 and 64. R

ever does a reporter go to a hospital and In terms of media coverage, on a per S
interview doctors for items in the sec- death basis, and a gross basis, the causes I
ond group, while dozen of news report- of death in this third group receive very T

ers will seek same-day comments from little coverage. Again, this does not im- Y
medical personnel for terror attacks and ply those incidents in the first group

mass shootings. should receive any less coverage. But 2
the qualitative observations in the earlier 0
A third group covers the largest count sections of the discussion, and the quan- 2

of deaths, a group consisting essentially titative discussion here, shown an almost 0
of medical causes. While the first group inverse relationship between the amount

totaled 10 to 20 thousand deaths a year, of media coverage, and the numbers of
and the second group 100 plus thousand deaths for a given cause.
deaths a year, this third group causes,

currently, two million U.S. deaths a year. Does this influence our actions? To that
This group consists of six major group- we now we turn.

ings of medical conditions, with the
numbers below showing the 2014 death The Efforts for Preservation
toll:

Everyday conscientious individuals
Cancer (all organs) - 591,000 work to preserve life, forestall death and

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