“Come in here!”
“What is it?”
“I don’t want you watching the news.”
“But Granma and Grandad are watching.”
“I know, but I don’t want you to watch.”
“But why?”
“Because they show lots of bad things on the news.”
“But those things have already happened.”
Are the bad things of the world any less horrible when they’ve already happened?
Are the bad things of the world worse for adults because we have seen so much tragedy already? Or because we feel more keenly the bad things that could have been prevented? Or because we know their consequences — grief, withdrawal, anger, retaliation, revenge?
Or are they worse for parents, because we want a better world for our children, and the nightly news tells us we don’t have one?
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want you watching the news. Wait in here with me for five minutes. The news will be over, and you can go back and watch Loaf and Death with Granma and Grandad.”
“Okay.”
Five more minutes of innocence won. A good start for a new year, eh?
Jars of Water 
I’m with you. I’ve been accused of sheltering our children too much. I don’t think you can shelter a child TOO MUCH! We’ve talked about plenty of news, but some things we don’t discuss, things that are too difficult for adults to understand (like the news story to which you linked) let alone explain to a child. Innocence won – hear, hear!