104:, which is the mental shortcut that relies on the immediate examples that come to mind when evaluating a specific topic. For example, because airplane crashes are frequently reported, they are easy to call to mind. This leads to people having inaccurate perceptions of how dangerous air travel is.
127:, which studies the mathematical theory of communication, is that reports of unusual events provide more information than those for more routine outcomes. The amount of information conveyed by a message about an event can be expressed in terms of its "surprisal", with surprisal
321:
ran a front page teaser headlined "Man Bites Dog" about a man who has been accused of assaulting his partner and her pet dog. The Online version of this story was later amended to "Man bites dog and escapes jail". On
September 1, the
281:
In 2010, NBC Connecticut ran a story about a man who bit a police dog, prefacing it with, "It's often said, if a dog bites a man it's not news, but if a man bites a dog, you've got a story. Well, here is that story."
88:
The result is that rarer events more often appear as news stories, while more common events appear less often, thus distorting the perceptions of news consumers of what constitutes normal rates of occurrence.
55:
that describes how an unusual, infrequent event (such as a man biting a dog) is more likely to be reported as news than an ordinary, everyday occurrence with similar consequences, such as a dog biting a man.
304:
On May 5, 2013, "Nine News", an
Australian news outlet, ran a story headlined "Man bites dog to save wife" about a man who bit a Labrador on the nose, after it attacked his wife and bit off her nose.
311:
had burnt a bed in his apartment, run around the city in his underwear, and, finally, "bit a fighting breed dog" following an hours-long online debate about the situation in
Ukraine. In April,
668:
897:
81:
editor John B. Bogart (1848–1921): "When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, that is news." The quote is also attributed to
499:
417:. During his struggle to escape from the snake's coils, he bit its tail. He was rescued after it eventually relaxed its grasp enough for him to get to his mobile phone.
59:
The phenomenon is also described in the journalistic saying, "You never read about a plane that did not crash." It can be expressed mathematically; a basic principle of
297:, a Canadian newspaper, ran the story headlined "Nearly Naked Man Bites Dog", about a man that is alleged to have bitten a dog in Pembroke, Ontario. And on December 2,
189:
690:
405:, mentioning a hunter that was shot by his own gun due to a reflex kick by the deer he had killed. And in 2005, in Michigan, there was a case of "cat shoots man".
1110:
252:
232:
212:
145:
434:
1159:
72:
782:
1251:
676:
970:
1014:
97:
To some extent, a focus on unusual occurrences is unavoidable in journalism, as events that proceed as expected are simply not "newsworthy".
565:
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1130:
901:
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821:
452:
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307:
There were at least five instances of the headline in 2014: On March 12, Rosbalt, a
Russian news agency, reported that a man in
1241:
935:
762:
1082:
860:
35:
608:"Semantic and cognitive tools to aid statistical science: replace confidence and significance by compatibility and surprise"
841:
698:
989:
915:
1107:
289:, a British local newspaper, ran a front page story headlined "MAN BITES DOG" about a man who survived an attack from a
513:
Tversky, Amos; Kahneman, Daniel (September 1973). "Availability: A heuristic for judging frequency and probability".
290:
767:
77:
1176:
786:
730:
101:
552:
Encyclopedic dictionary of flying words and phrases (Энциклопедический словарь крылатых слов и выражений)
879:
82:
401:
As an example of a related phrase, a story titled "Deer Shoots Hunter" appeared in a 1947 issue of the
31:
1256:
920:
494:
334:
ran an article about a man who had bitten a dog after it attacked his pet. And on
December 17, the
264:
471:
American
Journalism. A History of Newspapers in the United States through 250 Years, 1690 to 1940
324:
124:
63:
is that reports of unusual events provide more information than those for more routine outcomes.
60:
390:
ran an article about a man who bit a police dog while officers tried to take him into custody.
1203:
150:
945:
641:
530:
465:
370:
317:
108:
456:, 16th edition, ed. Justin Kaplan (Boston, London, and Toronto: Little, Brown, 1992), p. 554.
631:
621:
522:
402:
387:
275:
Reuters ran a story, "It's News! Man Bites Dog", about a man biting a dog in
December 2007.
1114:
364:
345:
17:
807:
500:
Great
Dictionary of quotes and winged words (Большой словарь цитат и крылатых выражений)
636:
607:
482:
Recollections of the Civil War By
Charles Anderson Dana, Charles E. Rankin pp. xvi, xix
414:
359:
336:
237:
217:
197:
130:
861:"People filmed as father and son fought off crazed dog with shears in Coventry street"
368:
ran such an article about a man biting a dog to defend his own dog. And on May 4, the
301:
reported about a man that bit a dog, headlining it 'Man bites Dog, goes to hospital'.
1230:
971:"Man bites dog: Parish council chairman bites out-of-control dog to defend his puppy"
526:
269:
1208:
379:
330:
1052:
278:
A 2008 story of a boy biting a dog in Brazil had news outlets quoting the phrase.
1094:
470:
234:
very close to one) carries almost no information, while an extremely rare event (
192:
626:
374:
ran an article about a man biting a police dog while being taken into custody.
112:
52:
949:
551:
534:
940:
591:
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100:
The reasoning errors caused by this phenomenon are also associated with the
808:"Житель Липецка после споров о событиях на Украине покусал бойцовую собаку"
645:
566:"Study: Fast Talkers Convey the Same Amount of Information as Slow Talkers"
413:
On April 12, 2009, Kenyan farm worker Ben
Nyaumbe was attacked by a large
315:
reported a mother bit a pit bull attacking her daughter. On June 14, the
48:
658:"State Briefs" column of the Sunday, November 5, 2000 edition, page B-16
308:
1015:"Police: Man bites dog in Boulder Whole Foods, pulls knife on officer"
107:
Some consider "man bites dog" stories about unusual events a sign of
340:
ran an article with a headline starting: "Man bites dog then dies".
75:(1865–1922), a British newspaper magnate, but is also attributed to
731:"Teen Joseph Ripley locked up after man bites dog in self-defence"
111:, and in the internet era, headlines about them may be phrased as
254:
very close to zero) provides a very large amount of information.
1166:, October 18, 1947, via Google News. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
587:"What makes Rupert Murdoch tick? The science behind media greed"
398:
There have also been a number of "dog shoots man" news stories.
214:. Measured this way, an event that is nearly certain to happen (
1131:"Dog Shoots Man: Pet Owner Recovering After Freak Gun Accident"
826:
312:
1097:, BBC News, September 17, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
352:
In 2018 there were at least three instances: On January 25,
285:
In 2012 there were at least three instances: On May 14, the
1133:, Fox News, December 19, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
349:
ran an article with the title "Man bites dog. No, really."
1055:, BBC News, October 30, 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
880:"Man bites dog fending off vicious attack against own pet"
383:
ran an article about a man biting a dog in a supermarket.
898:"Man bites dog then dies at One-Stop shop in Cambridge"
1095:"No Hard Feelings After Dog Shoots Huntsman in France"
240:
220:
200:
153:
133:
669:"It's news! Man bites rabid dog in southern India"
246:
226:
206:
183:
139:
1144:"Dog Named Trigger Shoots Indiana Hunter in Foot"
1083:"Sit, Stay, Aim, Fire. Dog Shoots Another Hunter"
990:"Man bites police dog, Salt Lake City police say"
362:, while trying to evade arrest. On April 10, the
1204:"Man bites snake in hour-long battle to survive"
1066:"Dog Shoots Man in Buttocks, U.S. Police Reveal"
783:"Man bites dog to save wife from vicious attack"
1029:"Police: Man bites, stabs K9 dog in California"
293:by biting the dog back. On September 27, the
8:
745:"Nearly naked man bites dog, witnesses say"
268:ran a story titled "Man bites dog" about a
73:Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe
1108:"Dog Shoots Man Accidentally, Police Say"
635:
625:
435:"There's news in planes that don't crash"
239:
219:
199:
152:
132:
1085:, ABC News. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
358:reported that a man bit a police dog in
822:"Mom bites pit bull as it attacks girl"
426:
1142:Buckley, Madeline (October 27, 2015).
1081:Newcomb, Alissa (December 12, 2011).
606:Rafi, Zad; Greenland, Sander (2020).
258:Examples of literal use in journalism
7:
1177:"Cat Shoots Owner With 9mm Handgun"
878:Aspinall, Adam (1 September 2014).
859:Gilbert, Simon (1 September 2014).
675:. December 14, 2007. Archived from
585:Shroff, Gautam (February 1, 2014).
1183:. Associated Press. March 10, 2005
1064:Hough, Andrew (December 1, 2011).
900:. 17 December 2014. Archived from
25:
1202:Nyassy, Daniel (April 14, 2009).
1106:Meisel, Jay (February 25, 2013).
1053:"Dog Shoots Iowa Man During Hunt"
988:Harkins, Paighten (May 1, 2018).
763:"Man bites dog, goes to hospital"
713:"Man Sinks Teeth Into Police Dog"
564:Ratner, Paul (January 21, 2017).
842:"Man bites dog and escapes jail"
613:BMC Medical Research Methodology
936:"Man bites dog in US, arrested"
697:. July 24, 2008. Archived from
1121:. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
1072:. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
453:Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
178:
172:
36:Man Bites Dog (disambiguation)
1:
1252:Metaphors referring to people
1150:. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
47:is a shortened version of an
527:10.1016/0010-0285(73)90033-9
1247:Metaphors referring to dogs
916:"Man bites dog. No, really"
1273:
627:10.1186/s12874-020-01105-9
291:Staffordshire bull terrier
29:
18:Man bites dog (journalism)
768:The Sydney Morning Herald
691:"Boy Bites Dog In Brazil"
343:On November 4, 2015, the
272:man who bit his own dog.
184:{\displaystyle s=-log(p)}
123:A basic principle of the
71:The phrase was coined by
810:. Rosbalt. 29 June 2023.
1237:English-language idioms
439:Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
386:On April 22, 2022, the
1242:Journalism terminology
248:
228:
208:
185:
141:
102:availability heuristic
34:. For other uses, see
27:Aphorism in journalism
994:The Salt Lake Tribune
679:on December 16, 2007.
441:. September 14, 2006.
377:On July 8, 2019, the
299:Sydney Morning Herald
249:
229:
209:
186:
142:
119:Mathematical analysis
83:Charles Anderson Dana
1160:"Deer Shoots Hunter"
944:. January 25, 2018.
904:on 19 December 2014.
515:Cognitive Psychology
238:
218:
198:
151:
131:
32:Man Bites Dog (film)
921:The Washington Post
701:on October 3, 2012.
495:Konstantin Dushenko
265:Santa Cruz Sentinel
1113:2014-12-18 at the
865:Coventry Telegraph
719:. October 8, 2010.
325:Coventry Telegraph
244:
224:
204:
181:
137:
125:information theory
61:information theory
30:For the film, see
1148:Indianapolis Star
846:South Wales Argus
830:. April 24, 2014.
554:. Bibliotekar.ru.
466:Frank Luther Mott
371:Salt Lake Tribune
318:South Wales Argus
247:{\displaystyle p}
227:{\displaystyle p}
207:{\displaystyle p}
140:{\displaystyle s}
109:yellow journalism
16:(Redirected from
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977:. 10 April 2018.
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503:. "Litres". 2017
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388:Associated Press
287:Medway Messenger
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191:for an event of
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848:. 14 June 2014.
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409:Man bites snake
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365:Daily Telegraph
346:Washington Post
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1017:. 8 July 2019.
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733:. Kent Online.
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521:(2): 207–232.
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394:Dog shoots man
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360:Houston, Texas
337:Cambridge News
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789:on 2013-05-07
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262:In 2000, the
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85:(1819–1897).
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50:
46:
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44:man bites dog
37:
33:
19:
1213:. Retrieved
1209:Daily Nation
1207:
1197:
1185:. Retrieved
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1037:. Retrieved
1035:. 2022-04-22
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997:. Retrieved
993:
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953:. Retrieved
939:
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910:
902:the original
892:
884:Daily Mirror
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802:
791:. Retrieved
787:the original
777:
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748:
739:
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717:NBCUniversal
716:
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699:the original
694:
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677:the original
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620:(244): 244.
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1187:January 26,
193:probability
147:defined as
41:The phrase
1257:Principles
1231:Categories
1039:2022-04-22
793:2013-05-04
751:. Toronto.
550:Serov, V.
421:References
113:click bait
53:journalism
1215:March 23,
950:0971-751X
941:The Hindu
571:Big Think
535:0010-0285
355:The Hindu
161:−
1181:Fox News
1111:Archived
955:July 31,
749:The Star
646:32998683
328:and the
49:aphorism
1033:AP NEWS
673:Reuters
637:7528258
468:(1941)
309:Lipetsk
67:Origins
999:May 4,
948:
695:Citytv
644:
634:
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415:python
93:Effect
592:Salon
1217:2020
1189:2018
1001:2018
957:2019
946:ISSN
642:PMID
531:ISSN
827:CNN
632:PMC
622:doi
523:doi
497:,
313:CNN
51:in
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38:.
20:)
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