Crime/Confict news among National/Local publications

According to the notes we received in class, 31% of local news is made up of information on crime and/or conflicts, while 28% of national news is made up of crime and/or conflict news. After initially hearing this, I thought that these numbers were pretty surprising. I would think that the New York Times would have then the Ithaca Journal to report about crime and conflict with the war in Iraq and the civil wars throughout the world. The more I think of it, however, it makes sense because local news is more likely to report about the crime incidents (assault, homicide, robbery, etc.) that go on in the community, where the New York Times is less likely to write about such incidents, unless they are brought to the federal level, which happens less often. The New York Times is also more likely to write about national economic issues, where as local news talks more about local businesses and events.