Monday, July 26, 2010

Spin: An Example

"Austin homes sales up 24 percent in May"
"New home sales rebound 24% - Jul. 26, 2010"
"New home sales up nearly 24%"
"GTA new home sales up 24 per cent in 2009"

Today I heard this headline and I said "waitaminnit, what about that -34% reported last time the statistic was published!"

Well, my gut was more correct than what passes for news on some local radio stations. Calculated Risk brings the charts:



You have to squint at the full-sized version (click on the chart) to see that this month's report is a huge upswing. It's a record bad month for June and that's the story unless you are a leftist who wants Obama's economy not to look so bad when you report on it. More complete reportage might also include the fact that the huge dip the previous month was due to what people thought would be the end of a government handout.

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