In an article for New York magazine titled “Grins, Gore and Videotape,” Eric Pooley explained that the unspoken motto of local news was “If it bleeds, it leads.” What he meant was that the most sensationalistic stories would almost always get the most coverage. “The news directors are not the kind of men who rush into the newsroom, fall to their knees, and plead to Heaven for one great murder to lead my broadcast, O Lord,” said Pooley. “They don’t have to. They are cool, corporate types who know there will be plenty of awful stories to choose from.”

Pooley’s article was written in 1989, a time when gore-filled news trickled in at 6 and 10 p.m. In the 30 years since, the torrent of horrific news has become a 24-hour deluge. It’s become almost inescapable. Even if you avoid TV, your friends are likely sharing the stories through social media. The result, as Maria Baer points out, is that many people today are suffering symptoms of “acute stress” or even PTSD from watching shocking or especially tragic news stories. In her recent article “When the News Is Too Much,” Baer explains how we can responsibly consume news so that tragic news doesn’t interfere with our ability to function as healthy people.