Friday, April 09, 2004
Beware Shoddy Reporting...
... of the Right-Wing Kind.0 comments
Shoddy reporting is becoming widespread.
For example, William Glanz in the rightist The Washington Times:
Positive omens for economy on two fronts
The Labor Department yesterday said new applications filed for jobless claims fell from 342,000 to 328,000 for the week ending April 3, an indication companies aren't shedding workers because they believe the economy is picking up.
A bit of a logic leap, eh, William?
First, Glanz misses the fact that 328,000 more people were summarily dumped onto the street by their employers. But, William seems to miss the "individual pain" aspect of that statistic, since he doesn't bother to interview any of the 328K to get their side of the story. You know, a feel-good, "How does it feel to be part of an improving economy?"-type angle. William just plops numbers into his story.
Second, William doesn't seem to entertain the notion that, perhaps, the first-time filers number is dropping because American businesses are flat running out of jobs to cut. Six people are now doing the work of fourteen to eighteen, and they are just as thinly stretched as is possible. Companies can't get away with having only five people do the work, or they would have already done so. Many companies have reached their downsizing "Fail-Safe" point.
The nation's unemployment rate increased, however, edging up to 5.7 percent in March as the number of people looking for work increased.
Hold onto your hat, there, William, but if the economy does improve, and hundreds of thousands of Americans who have given up looking for work in frustration feel a twinge of hope and start adding themselves back onto the rolls of those "unemployed, and looking for work," you're going to see quite the spike in the Unemployment Rate. How does 6% to 8% unemployment grab you, William?
yesterday's new economic data created optimism that companies could begin hiring.
Among whom?
William, if you're going to have a byline, please refrain from writing patently stupid, illogical things.
Neither a small business owner nor IBM has been looking for "the All Clear Signal" to begin hiring.
When someone sees a trending of numbers on THEIR ledgers that says it's time to up the payroll, it will happen. Not before.
William, your retail numbers section just jumps off the page. You spend a couple of graphs extolling March retail sales jumps of from 6% to 19.8% to buttress the new, surging economy concept. Then, you throw in this bit of dopiness:
Same-store sales are not likely to be as strong the rest of the year, said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers.
"March most likely will be the peak for the year," he said.
How does "we just shot our collective, proverbial wad" translate into "Oh, boy! Here we go!" exactly, William?
Despite yesterday's positive economic news, rising gasoline prices remain a lingering sore spot.
Motorists can expect gasoline prices to rise another nickel a gallon before the end of June, with bigger increases in the West and Northeast.
Gasoline prices will average $1.76 a gallon throughout the summer as supplies will remain tight and demand increases to record levels, the Energy Information Administration predicted yesterday.
The analysis said fuel prices probably will continue to increase over the next three months and then decline somewhat during the rest of the summer. It said the average between now and the end of June is likely to be about $1.81 a gallon nationwide.
Ummm, William, how does this say anything new or positive to you?
Real Wages have dipped into NEGATIVE territory, with those lucky enough to have jobs not seeing raises in years, while their benefits have been cut back and their hours increased. With no extra money in their checks, ANY rise in prices slices away their spending potential, with no greater value. People still get 10 gallons of gas, they just spend twice as much for it, which means there is that much less money for other spending.
Repeat after me, William: "D'Uh!"
Then, there is this topper:
• This story is based in part on wire service reports. [emphasis from the original.]
Why don't you just say, "This was a cut-n-paste job I took off the wires 'cause I'm under deadline and my editor on this Moonie-owned rag is breathing down my neck," since that's exactly how it reads.
But you get points for quasi-honesty, there, William.
Just not any for journalism.
posted by Gotham 4:38 PM
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