First of all there are still more people dying from other causes than COVID19, that is directly killed by the virus, as the lockdown measures have also taken lives, but they are harder to trace and therefore harder to number and easily ignored. The media is really one-sided when it comes to this subject.
But when we take disasters in general, the more deaths the more spectacular the news... or so it seems. Would the 9/11 attacks gone down into history the way it did if they terrorists only managed to kill say 3 people? Probably not. However since they killed so many (especially in only a few "booms") the attacks will be in the memories of those who saw the news that day forever (and even more in those who lost loved ones that day). And some of us may remember the tsunami that came shortly after Christmas. I was in a friend's home and we were awake the entire night and he had CNN running on the background. The numbers shown there. 30k to even 40k of dead people in some regions, that does keep your attention. If the tsunami only destroyed cities but claimed only 5 or 6 lives, the damage to buildings would still be as great, but the news wouldn't have shocked anybody.
And the more shocking the news, the more people will watch it. So yeah, in a certain way, the more death a disaster, whether it be a virus, a criminal attack, or a big nature disaster like a hurricane, tsunami or quake, the more deaths, the more people will watch it.
Now if you think about it, you can wonder if it's fair. I deem it very likely traffic accidents killed more people in 2020 than COVID19 did, and yet, you only hear about COVID19 and never about traffic accidents unless they are really really huge. You can say that traffic accidents happen in many and kill little people at each incidents, but a COVID19 infection is strictly speaking the same. One infection can only lead to one death. If I infect you and die and you die as well there are two deaths,but also two infections.
Good news rarely makes much impression. Bad news on the other hand.. So if you wonder why news shows bring more bad news than good news... well, there you go.
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