A generation ago we didn't have 24 hour news stations. Since they broadcast 24 hours, they have to find more news items. Stories that used to be limited to a local audience are now national news stories.
A recent example was the little girl who was killed here walking home from school. In 1975, they had 5 girls under the age of 12 disappear within a few months under similar circumstances (walking from school, the store, etc), but the rest of the country didn't hear about it. So, things are not more dangerous, we just hear more about them.