After reading this insightful Harvard Business School study, we highly recommend it to anyone interested in understanding how the media selects stories.

Many people believe that the news media is biased toward negativity, constantly emphasizing bad news while overlooking the good. However, a Harvard Business School study presents a different perspective. Rather than displaying bias, the study contends that the media’s emphasis on negative or shocking stories merely reflects what makes something newsworthy—events that are unexpected or out of the ordinary.

The research, titled What Is Newsworthy? Theory and Evidence, analyzed thousands of TV news segments from 1968 to 2013 from ABC, CBS, and NBC. It examined coverage of topics like the stock market, unemployment, and U.S. military casualties.

One of the key findings of the study is that newsworthiness is connected to surprise. Events that disrupt the normal flow of life—such as sudden spikes in unemployment or significant military losses—are simply more compelling stories.

The study’s co-author, Harvard professor Jesse Shapiro, explained it this way: “What might appear to be bias might actually be reflecting the imperative to report what is news.”

Since bad news often happens unexpectedly and dramatically, it naturally gets more coverage than slow, positive trends that don’t shock the audience.

There is so much more to unpack in this study, so if you are interested in this topic, read the study: https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/surprise-factor-why-bad-news-gets-more-coverage