Readers and listeners often accuse journalists of only focusing on bad news.
It’s true that bad news proliferates — after all, one of the first things you learn in journalism class is that the more bizarre the story, the more newsworthy it is.
However, all the sadness can take its toll on an audience.
In a study by Medill’s Media Management Center, teens said “news is stressful and reminds them of the peril in the world.”
And it can affect journalists as well. Even though we’re trained to be emotionally detached, we’re still human and feel pain when trauma happens. (This past weekend, my heart broke when I heard about a teenage boy near my hometown being charged with murdering his parents and two younger brothers. The high school he went to was the athletic and academic archrival of my high school.)
So, how do we react in a healthy way?
The MMC recommends the media “actively experiment with ways to diminish the negative associations teens have with news and to lift their feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness.”
I believe bad news loses some of its power when it motivates people to overcome it with good news.

UPDATE: Today (Feb. 6), the Associated Press asks why teens kill their families.
One expert’s answer: “With a teenager, it’s almost always impulsive, spontaneous, and there happens to be a loaded gun around.”