The media now devote more coverage to crime than they did ten years ago  Yet this is not because the crime rate has increased, but rather because the public is now more interested in reading and hearing about crime
After all, a crucial factor in the media' s decisions about what issues to cover and to what extent to cover them is the interests of their audiences
It is offered as an alternative explanation of why the media devote more coverage to crime now than they did ten years ago.