Why the media focuses so much on injuries

[injuryupdate]

At the press conference for the release of the AFL injury survey, Channel 9 reporter Tony Jones asked AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson a 'Dorothy Dix' question - "Does the media focus too much on injuries?". The answer from the administrative point of view, most of the time, would be 'yes', but in the middle of a sex scandal, perhaps the answer would be 'not enough'! From a scientific viewpoint, the latest AFL injury report is a major breakthrough, as it finally confirms a long-term downward trend in the injury rates of the competition. However, this finding wasn't big news to the AFL media, compared to watching vision of Shane Crawford's arm snap in half or the Essendon-Hawthorn brawl. In the NRL, there was potentially very big injury news recently with Benji Marshall suffering a second shoulder dislocation and being ruled out for the season, and Shaun Timmins having a spinal abnormality discovered on a scan after a neck injury. However, Timmins' replacement for Origin II is Brad Fittler, and this story has trumped everything else in the NRL this week. How does this piece relate to the photo to the right (it wasn't an Essendon player after the Hawthorn match!) - only that it is a spectacular photo, and will draw your attention, which is the only criteria that the media is interested in. Read more about the AFL injury report below or click to read about NRL injury rates.