Three minutes to deadline, and you’ve got a turkey of a story: an opinion poll that shows a minor difference – barely outside the margin of error – in the way Democrats see the Terri Schiavo issue, and the way Republicans see it.
What to do… what to do…
Well, if you’re CNN, why not drastically exaggerate the gap by graphing it against a scale that shows only ten percentage points?
Bingo! Not only do you create an instant yawning chasm, but you make it look like only a tiny fraction of Republicans and Independents are opposed to what the Republicans are trying to accomplish… instead of a majority, which is what the data (which don’t understand the need for a compelling infographic) insist is the case. Now, that’s drama!
As seen on Media Matters.
