Networks Increase Coverage Despite A Decline In Crime

Led by the O.J. Simpson murder trial and the Oklahoma City bombing tragedy, the three network evening news shows featured a record number of crime stories in 1995 - about 76 hours of air time.

Crime news accounted for nearly one of every five stories on the newscasts last year. The 2,574 crime stories outnumbered those about Bosnia, the U.S. economy and the federal budget battle combined.

The Simpson trial was featured in 874 stories and the Oklahoma City tragedy in 336, while the networks broadcast 1,364 stories about other crimes - four times as much crime news as in 1991, even though crime declined somewhat during the same period. The statistics were taken from the eighth annual TV news survey by the Center for Media and Public Affairs in Washington, D.C., whose researchers examined more than 13,000 stories broadcast on ABC, CBS and NBC nightly newscasts last year.

In another network news matter: The top story on the three network shows last Monday through Friday were the shooting down by Cuba of two unarmed planes (50 minutes); the primaries in Arizona and the Dakotas (23); the TV violence rating system agreement and the South Carolina primary (tied at 21); and the Episcopal heresy trial over homosexuals in the clergy (13).