Media Continues Proud Tradition Of Utter Incompetence

NY Times:

In Montana, the Senate race between the Republican incumbent, Conrad Burns, and Jon Tester, a Democrat, also remained close this morning, with Mr. Tester leading by about 1,600 votes as late returns trickled in.

But that margin amounted to a 1.6 percent gap — not enough, if it holds up, to give Mr. Burns the legal right to request a recount. Montana law provides for recounts only in races with a margin of one-quarter of 1 percent or less.

NY Times, elsewhere:

Tester
190,486 (49%)

Burns
188,900 (49%)

Jones
9,990 (3%)

Obviously the reporter, John O'Neil, looked at these numbers ("Mr. Tester leading by about 1,600 votes"). But he couldn't do the elementary school math that would allow him to correctly calculate Tester's lead (190,486-188,900=1,586. 190,486+188,900+9,990=389,376. 1,586/389,376=0.407%.)

It's interesting the recount provisions are so narrow in Montana, since even the actual margin won't allow a recount. According to the article, in Virginia losers can request recounts if the margin is less than 1.0%. (I'm assuming here John O'Neil's reading comprehension is better than his ability to add and subtract.)

In any case, what's amazing isn't necessarily that O'Neil made a mistake—I've been known to make them from time to time—but his subsequent (lack of) thinking process. He and his editors didn't look at that sentence and say to themselves: 1,600 is 1.6%? Which indicates only 100,000 people voted in Montana? Maybe we should doublecheck that. No, they forged on right ahead.

I wish it weren't too much to ask that a reporter at the highest-quality newspaper in America should have to know this kind of thing before writing articles on school loan rates, studies on second-hand smoke, and health care generally. But I guess it is.

And it actually matters. Someone who doesn't have a minimal facility with math is going to be uncomfortable challenging Washington's many slippery think tank fellows, much less the even-slipperier government types. Such reporters will just take what they say and rush it into the paper...thus helping provide us with the type of craptastic politics we've enjoyed for so long.

EXCITING UPDATE: Somebody at the New York Times can do fifth grade math. The paragraph now reads:

But that margin amounted to a gap of about half a percent — not enough, if it holds up, to give Mr. Burns the legal right to request a recount. Montana law provides for recounts only in races with a margin of one-quarter of 1 percent or less.