One year ago, a columnist for The Guardian damned media generally for promoting despair by reporting disproportionately dismal news. He contended that avid news-watchers fret most over those horrors that are least likely to happen precisely because media habitually emphasize the spectacular and ignore the common. Everyday dangers therefore go unnoticed, and uncorrected.

Airplane crashes grab media attention more than car accidents, he pointed out, yet automobile travel is far riskier. Because of that media focus, resources are lavished on airline safety while such deadly daily perils as dashboard video screens and cellphone use by drivers attract none of the prohibitions or penalties they deserve.

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