More Bias From the New
More Bias From the New York Times - Andrew Sullivan wrote over the weekend that "[i]t's gotten to the point now that I always check the actual poll when reading the New York Times' version." The particular poll that occasioned this latest barb from Sullivan was in an AP story, but Sullivan found that "the Times headline is a complete distortion of the poll numbers."
Today the Times has two stories from the AP on polling results in two governor's races (in Hawaii and New Mexico), and the way the results are slanted in the Times headlines confirms the bias Sullivan describes.
The Times headline over the story from Honolulu reads, Lead Narrows in Hawaii Gov. Race. The article itself says that Republican Linda Lingle leads Democrat Mazie Hirono by 47% to 39%, a comfortable 8 points. Lingle had a 15 point lead in early June. Since Hawaii hasn't had a Republican governor since 1962 and the Republican candidate still leads by 8%, the Times headline seems like wishful thinking. The reduction in the Republican's lead over the past four months hardly seems like it's the most newsworthy item in the story.
By contrast, the Times headline over the story from Santa Fe reads, Poll: Richardson Leads Sanchez. Here, however, the article reveals that Democrat Bill Richardson's lead over Republican John Sanchez has shrunk from 14% to 9% in the past month.
Where a heavily favored Democrat's lead has dropped in a month, the Times headline proclaims him ahead. Where an underdog Republican is still holding on to an 8% lead after slow tapering in the lead since early June, the Times headline proclaims "Lead Narrows."
One can easily see why Sullivan concludes: "Lies, damned lies, and the New York Times!" In any event, you shouldn't buy a used poll from these guys without kicking the tires and looking carefully under the hood.