Dangerous dogs or dangerous reporting? Dog bite fatalities in the news

Dog bite fatalities are uncommon in the UK, and therefore tend to be reported. Galtung (1998) states that we live not so much in an information society, as in a ‘disinformation’ society and media are often responsible for this disinformation. Issues regarding dogs, dog bites and 'dangerous' dogs (or, 'status' or 'weapon' dogs) discussed in news media means the main source of information available to the public is shaped by reporting practices. Due to fragmented reporting within a framework of newsworthiness, the context, underlying causes and issues of prevention are not discussed. This paper will study the reporting of 22 dog bite fatalities since 2003 and how reporting practices result in what can be called disinformation. It will not be argued that this disinformation is consciously done, but rather the result of concentrating on certain (newsworthy) issues – such as breed and the Dangerous Dogs Act and its implementation and shortcomings – and ignoring others – such as child and animal care. Without news reports identifying and analysing the common factors in these cases, future incidents will not be prevented and people will not know what can be done to stop them