Newspaper Coverage of Causes of Death

W Life is dangerous, even in the most modern societies. Although great progress has been made towards reducing illness and deaths from infectious diseases, this improvement has been significantly offset by increased vulnerability to natural disastersl and the hazards of technology.2 Because society is limited in its capacity to worry about risk and to provide resources to reduce it. hazards must compete with one another for public attention. Unfortunately, there is evidence that people's perceptions of risk are subject to large and systematic biases.) These misconceptions undoubtedly influence the way that people think about and respond to hazards in their personal lives. Such biases may misdirect the actions of publicinterest groups and government agencies,