ABSTRACT
A common complaint about television and online newscasts is that they seem to have a single-minded preoccupation with reporting bad news. Villainous behavior dominates the headlines, and it’s been this way since the advent of media news coverage. An observer from another planet might conclude, based on our news reporting, that villains far outnumber heroes in our society. Our hypothesis about the cause of the negative news bias is based on our observation that heroic behavior occurs all around us, but that it is both invisible and unexciting. These heroic actions are performed by the parents who nurture us, the teachers who educate us, the coaches who mentor us, the healthcare workers who mend us, the police and firefighters who protect us, and the soldiers who defend us. We call these pervasive and unappreciated individuals Transparent Heroes.
