New York City, NY

Over the 90-day window ending March 31, 2026, New York City's incident data recorded 112,945 total incidents across all categories. The two largest measured categories were 'other' (37,515 incidents, 33 percent of the total) and theft (34,953 incidents, 31 percent), together accounting for nearly two-thirds of all recorded crime. Assault was the third-largest category at 17,202 incidents (15 percent), followed by vandalism (6,568), weapons (6,061), and robbery (2,546). At the far end of the spectrum, homicide totaled just 43 recorded incidents, representing less than one-tenth of one percent of all measured crime in the city during this period.

Coverage shares diverged sharply from those measured proportions. Across 135 national stories, homicide consumed 34 percent of all national coverage (46 stories) despite its near-zero measured share, while assault drew another 33 percent (45 stories) against its 15 percent measured share. Theft, the second-largest measured category at 31 percent of incidents, received only 2 national stories (1 percent of national coverage), and local outlets produced zero theft stories as well. The Times Square gunfire incident on June 18 to 19, 2026, illustrates the amplification effect: a single weapons episode generated at least four near-identical national headlines across outlets including the Daily Mail, Washington Times, and WTOP DC ('Tourists run for their lives as gunfire erupts in New York's Times Square'), while the broader weapons category registered 6,061 measured incidents with only 14 total stories across all outlets. Similarly, the Luigi Mangione psychiatric-defense story ('Luigi Mangione's lawyers withdraw psychiatric defense for state case in CEO killing,' CBS News, June 19, 2026) accounted for a measurable share of national homicide coverage tied to a single case.

The national-versus-local gap itself is notable. Local outlets produced 27 stories against the national total of 135, a roughly 5-to-1 ratio. Local coverage, while leaning toward assault (30 percent, 8 stories) and disorder (22 percent, 6 stories), distributed attention more broadly across categories including sex offenses (7 percent) and fraud (4 percent), categories that received proportionally less national attention. Disorder drew 22 percent of local coverage against only 6 percent of national coverage and just 1 percent of measured incidents, suggesting local editors are tracking quality-of-life concerns that neither the data nor national outlets emphasize equally. Where the two coverage scopes align most closely is on assault, where both national (33 percent) and local (30 percent) shares are in the same range, though both still roughly double assault's 15 percent measured share.

Each category’s share of measured incidents, national/cable coverage, and local coverage over the same ~90-day window.

135 national stories · 27 local stories in window

• NY PostGunman in shark T-shirt shoots up hip NYC club, wounding 2: cops
• PIX11 New York4 people, including 2 teens, shot at NYC playground, NYPD Says
• CBS NewsLuigi Mangione's lawyers withdraw psychiatric defense for state case in CEO killing
• Daily MailTourists run for their lives as gunfire erupts in New York's Times Square as terrified parents drag children to safety
• NY PostTwo men fatally shot outside NYC subway station
• Daily Mail USTourists run for their lives as gunfire erupts in New York's Times Square as terrified parents drag children to safety
• WTOP DCTimes Square gunfire sends bystanders scrambling to safety
• Washington TimesTimes Square gunfire sends bystanders scrambling to safety