Unjournalism

Thanks, USA Today, for ruining the world

Posted on June 21st, 2006 by Mike Keliher
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A recent article from the Holmes Report discusses survey research and its role in PR. Actually, it’s not an article; it’s a damn…long thing. I don’t know what to call it, but buckle up - it’s 5,600 words.

The article talks about how survey research has become a nifty little way to get a reporter’s attention and, one step better, to get some media coverage. Think of the USA Today’s Snapshot on the front page, which many people cite as a big factor in the prominence of statistics in the news. Much of this research, though, is trash. I’ll spare you the dissertation but refer you to Joel Best’s “Damned Lies and Statistics.”

The Holmes Report article offers a pretty good example of damned stats:

In May of 2000, the Times of London reported, based on data provided by the British Medical Association, that “anorexia nervosa affects about 2 percent of all women and kills a fifth of sufferers.”

There are 3.5 million British women between the ages of 15 and 25. If 2 percent of them suffer from anorexia, that’s 70,000 sufferers. If a fifth die as a result, that’s 14,000 deaths. Obviously, anorexia is a serious problem. But perhaps not as serious as the BMA and the Times would have us believe, since in 1999 the total number of women between the ages of 15 and 25 who died—from all causes—was 855.

In reality, according to the National Statisics Office, the number of women who died as a result of aneroxia in 1999 was 13. The BMA and the Times had overstated the problem by a factor of more than 1,000. Jamie Whyte wrote the editor of the Times. Neither his letter nor a correction was published, and he received no explanation of the error.

People pitch, report and read - and often believe - this garbage. You know you do it, too, at least sometimes.

Another quick example: I’m watching the Colbert Report right now (it’s real news, right?) and Babe Buchanan (Babe? Is she serious?), who’s pushing for “the fence” along the U.S.-Mexico border, and she just threw out this stat:

9o percent of Americans demand that the border be secured.

Great, Babe. Good for you. Only a smartass would say, “Nah, fuck the border. Let ‘em go.” But she’s just throwing this stat out to make her look like she’s saving that god damn world - if only she could conquer that stubborn 8 percent!

Here’s the bottom line: Valid research can uncover fascinating, valid results. PR practitioners and journalists - and everybody, really - needs to put more value in validity and transparency. Quit yankin’ people’s chains with this lame research. If you have the patience to plow through Holmes’ 5,600 words, you’ll see why.