By regularly watching broadcast news, it's easy to notice how much human death is covered, springing to mind the old saying "if it bleeds, it leads". To get a precise idea on how much death is covered, I watched the 6 o'clock half-hour broadcast of BBC News every weekday for two weeks and logged each news story, highlighting the ones that were explicitly about human death.
At the beginning, I speculated that about one third of the total stories covered would be about death. Out of 78 total stories, 19 of them were about death or explicitly mentioned it. That's roughly a quarter. It's less than what I predicted but it's still a considerable chunk. Another noticeable thing was that the vast majority of the stories covered negative events and topics, which is a phenomenon in news that is widely acknowledged.
I'm not trying to make a wider point about why death is covered so much, I'm just collecting data. Stories about death are bolded.
Monday 10th October
- Missile attacks in Ukraine, major escalation by Russia
- Nurse on trial for the murder of 7 babies and attempted murder of 10 in Chester
- Nicola Sturgeon at SNP conference about Scottish independence
- "Warm hubs" to be set up in preparation for winter and the cost of living crisis
- Kwasi Kwarteng rebalancing finances
- King Charles sends condolences to Donegal explosion victims
- Prince and Princess present Newsbeat for mental health awareness
- New coins to commemorate the Queen
Tuesday 11th October
- Warning for the UK's financial stability as well as the global economy
- Unemployment rate in the UK falls to 50-year low, harder for companies to hire
- King Charles coronation set for next May
- Baby murder trial continues
- More Russian airstrikes in Ukraine, civilian casualties
- Jamie Oliver campaigns for free school meals
- Women's World Cup qualifying football matches for Wales and Scotland
- Madeleine McCann suspect arrested for unrelated crimes
- Donegal explosion
- Thailand school shooting funeral
- Adnan Syed released
- Doubts that new Scottish independence referendum will go ahead
Wednesday 12th October
- Liz Truss won't cut public spending
- Human remains of teen found in Milton Keynes
- Blood supply in the UK is critically low
- UK at risk of recession next year
- Baby murder trial continues
- TikTok profiting off donations to Syrians
- Groups say new government policies threaten nature
- Rugby team Wasps likely to enter administration
- Sir David Jason reveals he collapsed from COVID
Thursday 13th October
- Kwarteng says he will stick to his economic plans
- Apparent confession note from nurse accused of baby murders
- Welsh town Rhyl facing economic turmoil
- Large rise of hospital waiting times in England
- Tens of thousands of postal workers walk out over pay
- Met Police facing allegations of misconduct by their own members
- Queen Consort visits domestic abuse hospital
- Campaign to give emojis glasses
Friday 14th October
- Kwarteng sacked by Truss as chancellor, replaced by Jemery Hunt
- Talks of Truss stepping down as Prime Minister
- Murder investigation for Milton Keynes teen
- Iran casualties amid protests
- Robbie Coltrane dies
- Royal Mail workers dealing with redundancies
- COVID cases in the UK rising
- Rugby League World Cup beginning tomorrow in Newcastle
Monday 17th October
- Jeremy Hunt's economic plan reverses much of what Truss said
- Russian drone strikes in Kyiv
- Met Police commissioner calls for officers to be sacked for misconduct [mentions death]
- Scottish government makes economic plans for independence
- Manchester United player Mason Greenwood charged of rape
Tuesday 18th October
- Truss under pressure
- Maternity care safety concerns in Kent
- Cost of living crisis continues [mentions death]
- 30% of Ukraine's power infrastructure damaged by Russia
- Just Stop Oil protestors shut down a bridge
- Accusations of abuse in British gymnastics
- Questions about protestor attack at Chinese embassy in Manchester
- More rail worker walkouts planned
- Iranian athlete says her hijab fell off by mistake
- BBC turns 100
Wednesday 19th October
- Home Secretary Suella Braverman resigns
- Inflation is up to 10.1%, could reach 13% by the end of the year
- 45 babies may have survived with better care in Kent
- Putin announces martial law and heightened security in Russia
- Iranian athlete received well in Iran
- Many businesses opened in Sunderland
Thursday 20th October
- Liz Truss resigns as Prime Minister, shortest PM in British history
- American woman pleads guilty for killing Northamptonshire teen
- Inquiry calls for child service workers who don't report child sexual abuse to be prosecuted
Friday 21st October
- House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt announces she's running for Prime Minister
- UK social care system described as "gridlocked" by regulators
- COVID cases are rising
- First wild bison born in Britain for thousands of years
- Government borrowing has gone up considerably
- Russian troops with no military experience are being sent to the frontlines of the Ukraine conflict
- Police confirms missing teen found in Milton Keynes house
- Chester MP Christian Matheson resigns after misconduct
- Kevin Spacey cleared of sexual assault allegations
- Leader of Plaid Cymru Adam Price calls for a general election