I think that their job is to create a product worth purchasing, and their duty is to report accurately. That’s more than just highlighting the tragedies.
which headline would cause you to stop and purchase a newspaper?: "u.s. soldier digs a well in iraq" or "al-qaida linked terrorist beheads americans in iraq; baghdad car bomb kills 52." one sells papers, one doesn't. american culture prizes titillation over substance, so we get what we deserve.
Click on the "AP breaking" service. AP is the main circulator of the casualty lists. And they do it in a sleazy way. They, more than anyone else, trumpets a list that includes accidents and the like. And they were the main perpetrator of the nationwide Memorial Day newspaper publication of the pictures of everyone that died -- but ONLY in Iraq and not Afghanistan. It was a disgusting political statement, used to stir an emotional response.