DISPARITY IN NUMBERS. Headlines and stories about food poisoning victims in Sirao, Cebu City differ in reports of three papers. Numbers as part of the facts do matter
Two radio talk show hosts called it “low, medium, high”: newspaper A headlined “107 hospitalized after spaghetti meal,” newspaper B said “Free food hurts 130,” and newspaper C said “232 downed by food poisoning.”
The disparity in numbers couldn’t fail to catch attention of those who read last Dec. 22 the headlines of Cebu’s Englishlanguage periodicals.
Given the online editions, one didn’t have to buy all the papers to notice it.
And all three papers were right.
Still counting
The number of victims was what each paper had at the time it closed the page and started printing.
Victims of poisoning in the city’s mountain barangay were rushed to different hospitals when they complained of stomach ache, vomiting and diarrhea after having eaten spaghetti and chicken in pack lunches.
That, and the fact that some were just treated and sent home led to the non-uniform count. The numbers each media outlet gathered tended to vary.
For a running count, the diligent journalist usually checks the number up to the last minute the printing deadline allows. Online editions can This and past articles on media practices and accountability are also published in Sun.Star Online, www.sun.star.com.ph. Access by clicking (1) “Public and Standards Editor” at the foot of home page or (2) this icon: update their number anytime. The problem comes up if the story is filed and nobody checks afterward on the count’s progress.
Day 2 story
The second-day story of the paper usually comes up with the more accurate number. In the Dec. 23 issue, paper A hiked its number to “around 250,” paper B, to 254 (120 under observation; 134 released), and paper C, to over 200.
A common fault of media is to leave loose ends in a running story. In the Aug. 16, 2013 collision of passenger ferry St. Thomas Aquinas and cargo ship Sulpicio Express Siete in waters off Talisay City, coverage eventually ended with the number of casualties not settled. The last story had 55 dead, 200 missing: there was no definite word on how many of the missing bodies were recovered and how many were just presumed dead. Historians would be vexed by open-ended accounts, even on the matter of numbers.
Numbers matter
But do numbers matter? Stats are facts, very much part of the story. An P86 million anomaly at the local DPWH (Dept. of Public Works & Highways) years ago was a long-running story that kept the amount of P86 million until the story’s end even though the figure on the stolen money had kept going up. Check the archives: the P86 million is still the descriptive phrase for the scandal.
If there’s any upside to varying numbers, it entertains media watchers who, like the two broadcasters, get a kick out of the competing headlines.
[publicandstandards@sunstar.com.ph or paseares@gmail.com]