This is a rather interesting article that I found a few weeks ago:

“Consider how the media reported four incidents that happened between August 18th and August 21st 2007:

August 18 -
A Labrador mix attacked a 70-year-old man sending him to the hospital in critical condition. Police officers arrived at the scene and the dog was shot after charging the officers.
This incident was reported in ONE (1) article and only in the local paper.

August 19 –
A 16-month old child received fatal head and neck injuries after being attacked by a mixed breed dog.
This attack was reported TWO (2) times by the local paper only.

August 20 –
A 6-year-old boy is hospitalized after having his ear torn off and receiving severe bites to the head by a medium-sized mixed breed dog.
This attack was reported in ONE (1) article and only in the local paper.

August 21, 2007 –
A 59-year-old woman was attacked in her home by two Pit bulls and was hospitalized with severe injuries.
This attack was reported in over two hundred and thirty (230) articles in national and international newspapers, as well as major television news networks, including CNN, MSNBC and FOX.”

It seems like a serious dog attack is only worth reporting if it involves a pitbull. No wonder many members of the public have the misguided impression that every bull breed dog is a walking time bomb – I mean, the only dog attacks they get to hear about are the ones that involve pitbulls!