The media’s account and coverage of critical events is often very intense. In general, the media’s focus on the event determines if it becomes a dominating event in that time period. The media has a very important role to fill during crisis due to the increase of in the people’s need for information. The purpose of the essay is to emphasise the conditions of news coverage in crisis, as well as to investigate the underlying reasons for the manner in which news is presented. The conditions that are demonstrated in the essay concern the value and production of news, the logic of media, the aspects of language, as well as ethical and moral guidelines. To reach the aim of the essay a qualitative research was made. The focus lies on a critical news event; the murder in Arvika in September 2003. Two local reporters from Nya Wermlands- Tidningen and Värmlands Folkblad, who mainly reported from the event were interviewed. A text analysis was also made from their respective articles concerning the murder. The research showed that a number of factors influence the presentation of news during crisis. To calm anxiety and reduce the spreading of rumours it is important to report substantial and sufficient information as soon as possible. It is therefore the goal of journalists to obtain reliable information from well-informed sources. It is also important to avoid interviews with the victims. A central aspect that influences the formation news items is that the language should be easy to understand. The conditions during the production also have an effect on the formation of news with a crisis character. The journalists’ work can be experienced as very trying. Therefore it is worth noting that the discussion about the journalists process after a difficult assignment and about the knowledge about journalism in crisis, does not seem to be particularly pronounced.