How Many Things Can the Local Press Get Wrong?
First we have the story in Crosscut about the survey results that not only mis-reported the results (seriously, how do you get the numbers wrong in a story about the numbers?), but also grossly mis-interpreted them. The numbers in the story have been corrected but the editorial content remains mis-directed. The Crosscut story suggests that Dr. Enfield's 37% favorable rating in the survey suggests that the City loves her but that the Board's 33% favorable rating suggests that the City thinks they stink. Let's remember that the survey has a margin of error of five percentage points so these two results are, statistically, the same. Let's also note that Dr. Enfield got a 56% neutral rating. So way more people responded "Susan Who?" than proclaimed their love. And if a 37% favorable rating means love, then what does the teachers' 81% favorable rating suggest? Adoration, I suppose. Dr. Enfield, despite the focus of the story, actually finished a distant fifth - Michele Bachman territory - behind teachers (81%), schools (62%), the PTSA (60%) and the district as a whole (60%). Behind those
