The phrase Man bites dog and the related phrase Dog bites man are used to describe a phenomenon in journalism, in which an unusual, infrequent event is more likely to be reported as news than an ordinary, everyday occurrence. This can be explained by the fact that the news media generally consider an event more newsworthy if there is something unusual about it.

On the other hand, a situation which is commonplace is unlikely to be taken as newsworthy. The result is that news items carrying titles such as “Man Bites Dog” occur more often than those such as “Dog Bites Man,” making it seem as though the former event is more common compared to the latter than it actually is.

The phrase comes from a quote attributed to New York Sun editor John B. Bogart: “When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, that is news.”

Man bites dog (journalism) – From Wikipedia,

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