absolutely it is a function of media. We as humans do this goofy thing where we interpret hearing about something commonly as something that actually occurs commonly. Cognitively this is a great heuristic to use in life, but can be hijacked with the 24/7 feed of national and international news. This can also apply to hearing about the exact same thing repeatedly. Best thing to do is to detach from all the narratives, emotion and actually look at the number. It is not nearly as easy (but still possible) to juke the stats and it is easy to correct this when it happens.