Trengedy
I have come up with a neologism.
trengedy, n.
What occurs when the mainstream media seizes on a particular type of tragedy that’s not actually very common, seeks out every instance of it, and reports on them all, making people think it’s much more common than it really is.
Example: “The rash of reports in Summer 2001 about shark attacks was a particularly heinous trengedy.”
Googling this term gives one hit, which appears to be a typo on a foreign language blog. Hence I think I can safely claim I’ve invented it. Now, go forth and use it! Maybe this can be my eventual claim to fame.
