To the Media, Some Murders Matter More Than Others

At the time of this writing, there are nearly 7,000 references to "George Tiller" in Google News.

There are under 500 for "William Long."

George Tiller, of course, was the Kansas abortion doctor murdered Sunday morning by a man who allegedly had political and religious motives.

William Long was the 23-year-old military recruiter murdered Monday morning by a man who allegedly had political and religious motives.

Are there 14 times more stories about George Tiller in Google News right now because Tiller's murder occurred approximately 24 hours before Long's?

Will there be approximately 7,000 references to William Long in Google News 24 hours from now?

I'm not holding my breath.

Postscript dated 6/2/09, 11:37 PM Eastern: As I add this postscript, it's approximately 24 hours after I posted the post above, and thus now time to see how many references to "William Long" will appear on Google News.  If the number of news articles referencing William Long approximates 7,000, I will have been unfair.  Checking now... the answer is... there are 949 references to "William Long" on Google News.  A search for "George Tiller" finds 8,561.

 Cross-posted on the National Center for Public Policy Research blog.