Thomas Aquinas sets the news values

Try telling this to the Daily Express


Interesting perceptive of the Maddy case from across the Atlantic as Steve Borris tells us that

here is the historical checklist for a popular tragedy:
1) a woman or child as a victim or suspect;
2) a physically attractive victim or suspect;
3) a highborn or well-known victim or suspect;
4) some doubt about the guilt of the suspect; and
5) intimations of promiscuous or irresponsible behavior by the victim or suspect.

But perhaps we have to go back to the 13th Century to understand where those values come from

Understanding the public’s all-too-human interest in these tragedies might be less of a job for a scientist than a 13th century theologian like Thomas Aquinas. Among the 7 deadly sins he categorized, these popular tragedies appeal to most of them — envy, pride, greed, and lust. Beyond providing us with lust-provoking things to watch and think about, our greed makes us envy those of wealth or prominence, whose troubled lives restore our pride that our own, less glamorous lives are acceptable. When mainstream news tries to avoid stories that are sensational and titillating, they are fighting against their own customers’ human naturerom