“The value of a life, when weighted for race and class, can often be measured in column inches. The media did not create that value system. But it has a role in entrenching it. Politicians respond accordingly, pursuing policies not to solve the problems of their constituents, but to chime with the headlines. Before you know it, the political and media classes are reinforcing each other’s narratives – a fetid echo chamber where thoughtful discussion about the root causes of these fatalities is laid to rest with the bodies of adolescents. ”