"Why does the news media report more on attacks by certain breeds?"
Though we do not have much media attention here on the pitbull, we do get the American news so are familiar with the negative attention of the APBT.
IMO the pitbull just happens to be a great candidate for negative backlash from the media and the public. With its glorified history of bull baiting, bear baiting and dog fighting, which is documented long before they arrived in America, it was just a matter of time before someone got hurt and the bandwagon officially backed up to the media's front door. A large part of the pitbulls history is made up of fighting, although the breed has many other more important features, it is just near impossible to overlook the sensational aspects of the breeds history.
I mean, if a border collie went off on someone, where is the reference material to label it a vicious breed?? How about a Newf (one was involved in an attack on a lady here in Newfoundland), what traits in the history of the breed would lend itself to be labeled vicious - water rescue dog goes nuts just doesn't have the appeal of the pitbull gone bad.
We have a way of remembering the bad and forgetting the good. When there is a tragic event it sticks in our minds, lingering with us longer. Dog licks 4 year old and sits nicely after rounding up the sheep is not news to me!!
AC