This study explores whether amount of exposure to entertainment television violence, local newspapers, and local television news relates to reactions to reading news storeis that recount violent events. Survey results from three regions in the United States show bivariate connections between average media exposure levels and each of three indicators of desensitization. Multivariate results provide partial support for the idea that heavy local news conumption---presumably due to the presence of violent content---can contributue to a blunted response to news stories regarding real-life violent events when individuals have low trait empathy.