WashPo comes clean

by Renee Corea on April 5, 2008

in Squishy, Statistics

The Washington Post has posted a correction:

Correction to This Article
The article about bedbugs said that 500 of the 2,500 bedbug complaints lodged with the New York City Housing Authority between 2005 and 2007 turned out to be actual infestations. After taking a closer look at its records, the authority now says it did not keep detailed reports on bedbugs until last year. Of the 1,720 bedbug complaints received in 2007, a spokesman says, 70 percent resulted in treatment by an exterminator.

I honestly thought they would not correct David Segal’s ‘bed bugs are a product of hysteria’ story. But they did.

And, yes, we noticed. Deflection, played well. What can you do?

Still, I say, bully for us.

Further reading on this tale in several places on our site (it’s pretty much all we did our first week!) and you can read our correction request here.

These pages may be of related interest:

  1. Make it right, WashPo!
  2. NYC’s bed bug math problem
  3. The Case of the Incredibly Squishy Bed Bug Stats
  4. For shame, NPR On The Media recycles David Segal’s bogus squishy stats show
  5. We heard from Howard!

{ 3 trackbacks }

Washington Post prints correction thanks to bed bug activist
April 7, 2008 at 12:09 pm
No DDT, thanks, we’re good — New York vs Bed Bugs
June 13, 2008 at 9:36 pm
New York versus Bed Bugs — New York vs Bed Bugs
September 9, 2008 at 5:40 pm

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

1 persona-non-bugga April 6, 2008 at 2:39 pm

That’s terrific. Thank you, Renee, for researching the facts and taking steps to ensure the Washington Post holds itself accountable for reporting them without error.

2 Renee April 7, 2008 at 4:00 pm

Thanks for the support, Persona.

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