Friday, July 09, 2010

Headlines Are Editorials!

Last night the Channel 12 6 PM news anchor declared that 'Ron Johnson had a taxable income of $890,000. last year.'

This morning, WisPolitics' headline on exactly the same topic reads:

"Sen Hopeful Johnson: '09 Gross Income Was $1.5M" (the "M" stands for 'million', not 'thousand' as had been standard for decades.)

As it turns out, BOTH are based on this report from Channel 3000.

And if you read the story, you learn that WisPolitics' headline is grabbed from thin air.

Go ahead. Read it.

Exactly how did WisPolitics deduce Johnson's '09 gross income?

1 comment:

Jim said...

Exactly how did WisPolitics deduce Johnson's '09 gross income?

Maybe rather that grabbing their number from thin air, they actually got if from a copy of a letter from Johnson's accountant which lists his adjusted gross income at $1,461,621 ($1.5MM) [I use MM but M is now more common it seems]. This letter is linked from their article.

I went ahead and read it. Before you accuse, do your homework.