News media overrepresents some forms of violent crime and violent crime itself is overrepresented in news feeds.

This is because violence sells. There's even a saying among news professionals "if it bleeds, it leads."

Here are some features that make violence more newsworthy.

1) rare, relative to other violent crime
2) fits into pre-existing media narratives about society
3) scary enough to be threatening, not scary enough to make you shut down
4) casualties
5) reinforces the status quo