That is the thing. If you watch it like it was entertainment (and that is how many television news organizations treat it), then that is fine. I think OP is talking to people who obsessively watch the news, and that is the danger.

Humans conflate anecdotes with verifiable facts, and "saw it on the news" affects how many humans think about the world. Missing out on the one story about the guy halfway across the country murdered ten people does not have any negatives, where hearing about the story mentally increases your "people are murderers" counter. The world is much safer than the news would have you believe, and that is what the news organizations want you to think.

There is an old adage from the newspaper days, "if it bleeds, it leads". Bloody violence always gets the most prominent position, since that sells more newspapers/gets more viewers/listeners, which sells more ads, which makes the news organization more money.