Wednesday November 8, 2006

WTF, Herald?!

The Herald's graph showing Jim Davis at 53%, the Herald's headline declaring Christ 'Florida's new governor'

Check out the Herald: As of 5:41 am, this page shows Jim Davis at 53.55%, and this page, not to mention the cover, is declaring Christ the new governor. WHAT THE HELL, GUYS — PEOPLE CARE ABOUT THIS STUFF!

I know it’s been a long night for y’all, but is nobody at the the controls over there? Update: Eddie points out that the graph represents only the voters in Miami-Dade.

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  1. eddie    Wed Nov 8, 08:07 AM #  

    That graph just includes the voters from Dade County. It does not include the rest of the state.



  2. Jonathan    Wed Nov 8, 09:05 AM #  

    They should have made clear that the numbers reflected only M-D votes. I saw an earlier version of this chart last night and intepreted it as showing Davis in the lead. It’s a minor error but typical of how old media operate: “Correction? No big deal, we’ll get around to it eventually.”

    If this misleading chart had appeared on a major blog someone would have complained and the blogger would have posted a correction or clarification within a short time.



  3. alesh    Wed Nov 8, 09:58 AM #  

    Jonathan~ Yes. Though I’m probably making it look a little more misleading then it is. In fairness, I did click a “Miami Dade results” button to get to that page. While I think that results about WHO WON should be much more prominent then results about WHO VOTED HOW, I was just drowsy and uncareful.



  4. NicFitKid    Wed Nov 8, 02:34 PM #  

    Hold your high horse, Jonathan, the Herald’s got nothing to do with that table. Shocking that they’re not the source of all misinformation, I know.

    The MD table comes from the elections results link at the Miami-Dade elections site which, naturally enough, only tracks county votes. For statewide totals you have to go to the Florida Dept. of State site.

    Alesh just confused county totals with state totals and thought the Herald had goofed on declaring the winner. It’s an easy mistake to make at five in the morning, so please let Conductor know he doesn’t need to start a Critical Watch blog in response.



  5. Jonathan    Wed Nov 8, 09:30 PM #  

    Ha. OK, I apologize to the Herald for slandering its good name. And now, let it be known that I will not rest until the real designers of the confusing graphic are caught.



  6. John Wayne Smith (NPA)    Wed Nov 8, 09:54 PM #  

    After seeing my numbers in that M-D graphic, I sense a groundswell of support. In two years I’ll run for county mayor. With me?