Pubdate: Sun, 08 Jul 2007 Source: North Shore News (CN BC) Copyright: 2007 North Shore News Contact: http://www.nsnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/311 MYTH ADDICTS THE revelation this week that stories of candy-flavoured crystal meth are almost certainly false should serve as a cautionary tale not only for the public, but also for the media. Tales of the deadly drug supposedly marketed directly to children spread like wildfire in recent months. While nervous citizens are in part to blame, the flames were fanned in large part by the press, who were all too eager to report it. The phenomenon points to a persistent flaw in the media's approach to crime. In our pursuit of the cathartic - especially of stories that invoke anger or outrage - we focus on the dark side of society to the point of misrepresenting it. Just last month, an Ipsos Reid poll showed just 12 per cent of Canadians believe crime is dropping, despite the fact it has been doing so for years, according to Statistics Canada. There is no question the media are complicit in this misperception. Serious crime makes eye-catching headlines, so we seek it out regardless of the trend. If there is no murder here, we'll report one from the next city. In this environment, it is no wonder USA Today and even our local papers would jump on a story about candy meth without solid evidence of its existence. And it is no wonder the public would believe it. We in the media must be careful to take a measured approach to reporting, reminding the public of the real dangers they face, while at the same time keeping them in perspective. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman