Finally some in the news media are realizing they cannot continue to inflate the number of uninsured Americans without being criticized.
National Public Radio is making a change and has sent out a "guidance" email to member stations on the issue.
NPR'S deputy senior supervising editor Joe Neel drafted an e-mail that was sent out Oct. 14 to member stations addressing the number of uninsured. The e-mail clarified proper use of Census Bureau statistics and advised staff to "avoid the construction '46 million Americans.'" That number has been a flashpoint throughout the health care debate.
The NPR e-mail said, "We are sticking with the 46 million number issued by the Census Bureau in September (for 2008). It's the number of people in the U.S. who lack insurance coverage at any point during the prior 12 months. It includes citizens, legal residents and undocumented immigrants."
The e-mail went on to explain how not to report the issue. "Better to say '46 million uninsured in America,' or ‘the nation's 46 million uninsured people,' or any other formulation that does not label all 46 million as citizens," the e-mail continued.
David Sweeney, managing editor of NPR, confirmed to the Business & Media Institute that the e-mail had indeed been circulated and said it was provided to member stations as "guidance," not as a "dictate."
"We thought this was helpful to program producers and other reporters and editors who may be working on a health care story," Sweeney explained. He also told BMI it is not unusual for NPR to send such communiqués clarifying complicated issues or explaining an NPR editorial policy.
NPR isn't alone in clarifying its wording on the uninsured. In September, President Barack Obama modified his language on the issue, switching from "47 million Americans" to "more than 30 million American citizens."
The Business & Media Institute exposed the error of many journalists in July 2007 when everyone from politicians, to Michael Moore to major broadcast and print media were claiming that there were between 40 and 50 million uninsured Americans.
Those claims were incorrect because (at that time) the Census was reporting 46.577 million people uninsured in America - including nearly 10 million in the "not a citizen" category.
The latest Census Data, released in Sept. 2009, found the total number of uninsured was 46.3 million people. That figure included 9.5 million non-citizens.
—Julia A. Seymour is an assistant editor for the Business & Media Institute.
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Comments Policy
Finally.... Scientist
October 15, 2009 - 15:19 ET by w2448hcFinally....
Scientist built 24kW Free Magnetic Power Generator for home.. Free Home Electricity : http://www.33energy....
Good access denied. Last
October 15, 2009 - 16:07 ET by Dan The Man 2Good access denied. Last time this guy was here he left some kind thing like the magnet electricity thing also. This guy is clearly just trying to sell something and a bogus item at that; he wants to sell us a perpetual motion machine.
Know how to keep a Troll in suspense? Ill tell ya in the morning.
Dan, Yeah, he got sent to spammer Hell.
October 15, 2009 - 16:30 ET by R D Helm:-)
-Dave
Which Proves
October 15, 2009 - 15:26 ET by GeneralAlWhich proves that the Tele-Prez Messiah has every intent of insuring 10 million ILLEGAL ALIENS as he has constantly referred to providing insurance for 46 million uninsured!
Too bad for all the poor
October 15, 2009 - 15:33 ET by notonmywatchToo bad for all the poor saps they propagandized already, hmm.
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NPR -- News for the People's Republic
October 15, 2009 - 15:35 ET by CO2MakerAh, change we can believe in! NPR revises the estimate of "people without healthcare"--uh, make that "people without health insurance--downward to a number previously claimed by teabaggers--uh, make that Obama deniers--while on the same day, Hot Lips Harry Reid actually admitted that the healthcare bill will cost $2 trillion-with-a-T.
And that ain't no chump change we can believe in.
Gee, you think their
October 15, 2009 - 15:37 ET by mattmGee, you think their "guidance" would include "get the facts right," "avoid hyperbole," and "verify your sources." But I guess that's a bit much to ask of "journalism" nowadays,
Yeah it's clear the guiding
October 15, 2009 - 15:39 ET by notonmywatchYeah it's clear the guiding principle now is "propagandize first, verify and shift blame later".
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Another reason why it is important to not watch television
October 15, 2009 - 21:44 ET by needleOne would hope their "guidance" would be to present information in a straight forward manner with the intention of not deceiving. But then again we are discussing 21st century “journalism” here.
As you say: “I guess that's a bit much to ask of "journalism" nowadays,”
- Relying upon the Liberal Media for your information is like relying upon an embezzler for your portfolio management.
- I didn't leave the Republican Party; the Republican Party left me.
Julia - the uninsured number.. Bush did better than Clinton
October 15, 2009 - 15:52 ET by Gary HallA few months back, a popular Fox News WH reporter said it loud and clear as well. I shot off a quick e-mail, to which he was appreciative and suggested he'd pass it around. Once something is out there like that for so long, folks start believing it.
Most of the entire national media spent years attacking Bush's HIV/Aids effort, the PEPFAR program, by claiming that 1/3rd of the billions of dollars were being (in their view) wasted on abstinence programs. In fact, 1/3 of the preventative funding was going to abstinence related issues. 1/5 of the total budget was going to all preventative measures. 1/3 of 1/5 ='s 6.7% of the total. Not bad, huh? 33.3% vs 6.7%, when you're speaking of $billions. Eventually I was successful in the LA Times producing a memo setting it straight - not much luck elsewhere.
Interesting tid bit on the uninsured numbers. In 1988, the number of uninsured was 34 million. In 1998 (ten years later - and well into the Clinton era) the number was 44 million.
In 2008 (ten years later, and at the tail end of the Bush era) the number is 46 million.
So, let me guess. The game here would be to blame most of it on Bush, right?
The left doesn't know it, but Bush and the R's were making progress with holding it down.
(;~/ gary
Static numbers
October 15, 2009 - 16:09 ET by CO2MakerGary Hall wrote: "Interesting tid bit on the uninsured numbers. In 1988, the number of uninsured was 34 million. In 1998 (ten years later - and well into the Clinton era) the number was 44 million.
In 2008 (ten years later, and at the tail end of the Bush era) the number is 46 million.
So, let me guess. The game here would be to blame most of it on Bush, right?"
Don't forget that in those 20 years, the population of the entire country grew by tens of millions, through higher birth rates than death rates and through long hikes north from south. So, the obvious inference is that during the Babble-W Captivity, the rate of uninsurety went down, not up.
So, National Proletariat Radio is having problems keeping...
October 15, 2009 - 15:52 ET by R D Helm...its Obamaganda straight.
Too funny.
-Dave
"Facts"
October 15, 2009 - 16:53 ET by mad53PAWhy should facts get in the way of anything the MSM reports?
Too bad hackers/computer
October 15, 2009 - 17:43 ET by RR GOPToo bad hackers/computer geeks don't tend to be American (or even foreign for that matter) conservatives...imagine the abundance of stuff like this they could intercept.
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 86% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.
30 million uninsured means 270 million insured - 90%
October 15, 2009 - 22:15 ET by trak65The stated goal of the new $800 billion program is to get us to 94% coverage. The extra 4% represents insurance for 12 million people, which works out to about $67,000 per person or $267,000 for a family of four. What a joke!
American's must decide?
October 16, 2009 - 12:46 ET by BrittanicusThis is the amount of incredulous influence the--OPEN
BORDER--lobbyists (business power brokers and ethnic zealots)) have on certain
Democratic devious rabble? Once again the senate top echelon have huddled
secretly (BEHIND CLOSED DOORS), recklessly placing E-Verify worker
identification system in jeopardy. The obnoxious
R-O-P-E Senate group as its being called on the Internet and
nationwide, who are marked as Reid, Obama, Pelosi Emmanuel have
indifferently pushed American Workers in the background, allowing the millions
of illegal aliens to take their jobs. They have driven into the ground
amendments from appearing in the final Homeland Security "conference
committee" bill. They eradicated--ANY CHANCE--of a
Senate's permanent authorization of the E-Verify program.
They have religiously under-funded, undermined the Senate's mandate
to beef up
and complete the final 300 mile Mexican border fence. Then again it was
never
the original border wall as designed by Rep. Duncan Hunter. Illegal
Aliens
would have first had to scale the--FIRST--fence, run across the two
lane
highway for the Border Patrol vehicles, then scale an identical--SECOND
FENCE. Under
funded and weakened just like E-Verify, the police 287(g) arrest and
detainment
and ceasing the massive ICE raids. Finally the ROPE group strangled the
Senate
(already) passed ability of countrywide businesses to run their
previous
hires employees through E-Verify. So you can guess this is a harbinger
to drop
on the AMERICAN WORKER YET ANOTHER ULTIMATELY EXPENSIVE BLANKET
AMNESTY. THOSE
TAXPAYERS WILL BE FORCED TO PICK UP A TRILLION DOLLAR TAB. Be advised
that Reid
D-NV , Pelosi D-CA have one of the largest population of illegal
immigrants in
the country, who they are subservient too. Remember to expend your
frustration and anger at 202-224-3121on your lawmakers. They are
juggling with millions of American Workers job lifeline, by pandering
to people who shouldn't even be here?
MY SUGGESTION IS DON"T BUY ANY SERVICES FROM
BUSINESS THAT DOESN'T
DISPLAY THE E-VERIFY PLACARD. Remember the real conniving happens in
rooms
hidden from the public awareness in conference committees. In addition,
Remember Harry Reid as an incumbent Senator who carries the blemish of
being
anti-American Worker, Anti-Sovereignty must not be re-elected. Speaker
Pelosi
must go? So must Emmanuel? They have proved they cannot be trusted As
NUMBERSUSA president says," With no chance now of E-Verify dying in any
minute, because they couldn't annul the 3 year extension? The
pro-amnesty
forces no longer can try to use it as a bargaining chip. States,
counties, cities and businesses can now be quite confident that they
can set
policy based on the E-Verify program being around." IT'S NOT PERMANENT
YET
THANKS TO ROPE. This group has given preference to illegal workers
instead of
the 15 million authorized AMERICAN WORKERS. COMPREHEND MORE OF THE
CORRUPTION
THAT CANNOT BE DENIED BY POLITICIANS AT JUDICIAL WATCH. NUMBERSUSA will
explain
in detail the consequences, that includes the 2010 Census, Health Care,
hidden welfare programs, Anchor babies, criminals amongst the illegal
immigration occupiers. CAPSWEB for
OVERPOPULATION information.