This mindset is interesting. Issues like plane and train crashes grab headlines and are typically catastrophic, but end up being far more rare than, say, a fatal car crash. Similarly, the Space Shuttle had two major incidents in 30 years, and the Concord had only one, but they were very public and very catastrophic.
Is it the rarity or severity that make them such big news?
It helps just in terms of grabbing your attention, too. "Man drives into lake" doesn't make the news. "Man drives Bugatti Veyron into lake" does, just because the unusual car makes it more interesting.
In the case of Concorde and the Shuttle, the machines in question were not only rare, but beloved by many, and seen as a national symbol. It's almost like assassinating the country's leader.
I spent my time as a kid living on Vandenberg Air Force base, and my father would drag me out to Minute Men missile launches early in the mornings. I saw several launches. Even two launched at once.
I had seen many launches before, so I had no expectation that they could go wrong.
Watching the shuttle explode like that was shocking.