Deceptive Statistics (Is There Any Other Kind?)

In the New York metropolitan area, we are blessed with having a plethora of inferior newspapers, from the New York Daily News to the New York Post, to the Metro and AM New York, just to name a few. (I consider The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal quality newspapers.)

Starting this week, I began picking up the free Metro and the free AM New York, which was intended to be nothing more than a newspaper (if you can really call it that) to be read during one's commute. The Metro is has about half the number of pages as AM New York and it is just about the most poorly written newspaper I have ever read, anywhere. (Even the English Taipei Times in Taiwan is better written.)

The following comes from yesterday's AM New York and today's Metro, respectively. While there is probably nothing wrong with they way they portray things, it just goes to show that statistics really can be made to show anything. Click to enlarge:





From the AM New York, though, I was exposed to Ken Ken number puzzle, which I find particularly entertaining.