Annapolis Capital Punishment

It is axiomatic (cool word huh?) that the news media may not necessarily tell us what to think, but they do tell us what to think about. In other words, the editors don't of course, decide to cause a major car crash or burn down a major building, but in another, equally important sense, they decide to make "news" of it or not. At the end of every year, as is customary, our local editors, who in their role as "gatekeepers" of the news, have already decided on what to report, how to report, how much prominence, depth, duration or salience to give to the news, then go on to tell us their thoughts about what are the top ten news stories of the year. Can you say ironic? Can you say tautology?
CP agrees that the skyrocketing murder rate is the number one story of the year, but rather than focusing on the events of the murders themselves, CP thinks the real story (behind the story?) is the apparent unwillingness or inability of our mayor and police chief to confront this escalating violent crime. As the Capital accurately and appropriately reports, there is a very strong correlation between these murders and public housing. Therefore, let us all hope that in one year, the big news story of 2008 will be about a major drop in violent crime with the real story behind it about how our mayor and police chief worked with community leaders and public housing officials to make it happen. Even better, perhaps the biggest story might be something about a major plan to transform the failed experiment of public housing into something better for all residents.
See the Capital's story about their stories at:
www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/12_30-35/TOP