>There is a good joke story about journalism, illustrating this paradox. It is actually Russian story, so I apologize if I translate it poorly. Imagine that a man walks down the street and gets bitten by a dog. Will it be covered in tomorrow's tabloids? Average man, not a celebrity. Now look at different situation. Imagine a dog walks down the street and gets bitten by a man. Is it a tabloid material? You bet. All city papers will tell the story of the man, of the dog, of the dog's owners; even some local politicians may propose another measure to protect animals. So, ask a question: which episode is more typical and which one goes to press?

I've heard it as a kid too, but as an American joke... so just had to check, and of course, the history belongs to the publishers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_bites_dog_(journalism)