SCIENCE

“20 years of news Under The Lens: Spotlight on U. S. Risk ”

Thu Feb 06 2025
Over the past 20 years, news reports have given certain risky situations a special spotlight. This study looks at what makes some stories get more attention. To do this, researchers did something new. They used special tools, like topic modeling and time-series analysis. This involves analyzing a huge set of 271, 854 U. S. news articles. This approach helped them see things that might otherwise go unnoticed. Now, why are some events highlighted more than others? Well, the study found that risk news focuses on seven main topics: business, local issues, entertainment, environment, global problems, health, and tech. Each of these topics stands out because the way journalists report on it is unique. Here are some key difference about why some events get more coverage. Some events are so big that they overshadow others. For example, the "War on Terror” and the emergence of COVID-19 changed how news stories covered risk. Other major events got less attention because of this. The study raises questions. For instance is this pattern normal or do major events overwhelm the news cycle? What makes certain stories more important than others? Is this a good or bad thing? This could be an important question to think about.