Truth in Headlines

Written by Andrew Gelman on Thursday July 1, 2010

A recent headline read:"Unemployment Extension Fails: Senate Rejects Jobless Benefits 58-38". The Senate though had voted in favor of the bill.

I came across the following headline:

Unemployment Extension Fails: Senate Rejects Jobless Benefits 58-38

Actually, though, the Senate voted 58-38 in favor of the bill. But the opponents did a filibuster. Here's another try:

Congress Fails to Pass an Extension of Jobless Aid

But it's still not clear that the vote was strongly in favor -- not even close, in fact. A better headline, I think, would be:

Senate Vote on Unemployment Extension: 58-38 in Favor, Not Enough to Beat Filibuster

Or maybe someone more journalistic than I can come up with something better?

Category: News