Watching TV news? Be very afraid

News that takes time and money v. news that's cheap and easy

It's enough to scare you into never leaving your house again. Or perhaps you need to get a concealed weapons permit. Maybe it's time to give up some of your civil liberties so you can be a little safer. At the very least it's time to, once again, demand that elected officials get more cops on our dangerous streets.

Or could it be time to stop watching so much local TV news, which is addicted to reporting about violence and mayhem because it's a cheap, easy way to fill a newscast? Here's a headline you probably won't see on local TV news: Some crimes are down in Orlando, and our streets are relatively safe.

From "Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: Three weeks of local TV news demonstrates one thing: you are in grave danger" by Jeffrey C. Billman for Orlando Weekly