A Tale of Two AP Polls: One Finds Americans Seeing Doom and Gloom, The Other Finds Them Optimistic

Trouble is both headlines are based on the same poll.

Well, not exactly. The "optimism" story relies heavily on anecdotal tales of optimism. The doom and gloom one relies more on the actual poll findings.

Still-- if you can spin the same poll as yielding two perfectly contradictory results, doesn't that mean neither is correct? And that really the MSM is far too in the business now of not doing straight reporting but providing "overarching narratives" and engaging in "storytelling"?

One poll, two contradictory stories -- you can choose to run either one in your newspaper. AP can sell you happy or AP can sell you sad; the truth doesn't matter much, so long as you have an AP story running.

Question: Is anyone else happy to see 2006 go? A true annus horribilus. ("Annus horribilus" is a Latin term for "Andrew Sullivan.")

2007's gotta be better. Right?

Please: Is anyone going to do a photoshop/animated gif of the ball falling in Times square, except with Saddam dropping from the gallows?

People, you've got like three hours left.

Gank: Annus horribilus, not terribilus. Duh.

Thanks to Francesco Poli for pointing that stupidity out.

posted by Ace at 09:27 PM

| Access Comments