The first issue of my 6-month subscription to the Sunday New York Times arrived this morning. It was a requested and welcome Xmas gift and I suspect it will prove to be the gift that keeps on giving. Right out of the box, it doesn't disappoint. From the page 2 "News Summary" of articles that appear elsewhere in the issue (not online, transcribed by me):
At least 844 members of the American military were killed in Iraq in 2005, nearly matching 2004's total of 848, and the number of wounded in 2005 was much higher than in the previous year, according to information provided by the United States government and a nonprofit organization that tracks casualties in Iraq.
I'm not sure who writes these summaries and how many levels of editorial control go into proofing and approving them, but it appears they need to add at least one more level. The facts from the article written by the unfortunately named Dexter Filkins:
From Jan. 1, 2005 to Dec. 3, 2005, the most recent date for which numbers are available, the number of Americans military personnel wounded in Iraq was 5,557. The total wounded in 2004 was 7,989.
A 30% decrease reported on page 6 and summarized on page 2 as "much higher." I'm not sure if the New York Times needs another layer of gate keepers or maybe just a good book keeper to teach the staff some basic math.
Either way, it's another good opportunity to remind ourselves of the warnings from U of M professor Larry Jacobs on the dangers of blogs:
Along with partisanship, credibility is another problem for blogs. There's nothing in the First Amendment about the need for an editor. Bloggers can write anything they want; they can spout fact or fiction. Jacobs advises readers to beware: "There's no gatekeeping here."
And for that, perhaps we should be thankful. With gatekeepers like those we find in the MSM, who needs barbarians?
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