Media Missed Mark on Murder Coverage

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The Post-Dispatch has rather enthusiastically kept track of the record number of homicides in the city of St. Louis. As we move forward in 1994 with renewed hopes of optimism, we are dramatically reminded that homicides will continue, regardless of the year.

A Jan. 4 headline read: "City Records First Homicide Of 1994." The media in general were the brunt of much criticism last year because of their coverage of crime and in particular homicides. If this story is an indication of how future homicides will be covered, then the Post-Dispatch should add another page for reader's comments because they surely will increase.

By the fourth sentence, a young man (24) had …