Actual Washington Post headline today (3/11/10):
Rise in Washington Area Unemployment Seen as Good Sign for Economy’s Recovery
Reporter V. Dion Hayes tries to explain:
Rising unemployment as a positive sign may sound counterintuitive, but economists explain it this way: The increase suggests that long-term unemployed people in the D.C. area who had given up looking for work have restarted their job hunt, perhaps because they see evidence that the region’s economy is improving and that employers are beginning to hire again. On the other hand, the declining national rate indicates that discouraged workers elsewhere have remained out of the labor force because they do not see any reason to look for work.
There are actually other measurements of unemployment put out by the federal government that don’t force editors to come up with such ridiculous headlines–and might help readers understand what’s going on better. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks the number of people who have given up looking for work but want a job (“marginally attached” people), as well as those who are working part time but want to be working full time; those numbers are publicly available, yet journalists rarely use them. (For more on such media malpractices, see Veronica Cassidy’s article, “Misleading Indicators,” in the January 2009 issue of Extra!.)
What’s the difference between Newspeak and Newsspeak?
The latter’s non-fiction.
What media without facts or honesty !
they’re readers for whatever they receive from the Corps !
M.T once said; if you don’t read the news,you are uninformed ,and if you read the news,you are misinformed ! there’s no talent of any kind
because the message is out that hiring comes through friends or family .
Another miracle as the Washington Post turns a turd and into a popsicle.
And then there’s the deeper question; can we trust government numbers?
I believe the answer to that one is a resounding “NO”
Do corporations have a duty to their country in these tough times? The media talks about joblessness and what workers are doing to find new jobs. They talk about the government working on job bills. But no one talks about corporate responsibility to hire, or at least not fire and down size more workers.
There has not been ONE corporation that has said they will hire people now to help the country and put patriotism ahead of profits. Corporate America has turned its back on it’s country in its time of need. And the media that depends on advertising or corporate sponsors, seems hesitant to talk about it. This is far from fair or balanced.
Why should workers buy the products of companies that put workers out of business?