Who Needs Press Secretaries When the Newspaper Does the Spin?
Providence Journal, front page headline, above the fold, today:
Enrollment in R.I. exceeds expectations
New data from HealthSource RI sums up who made what choices in first 3 months
From the eighth paragraph of the actual story, appearing on the next page:
But that target was clearly lower than most expectations. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island had expected 40,000 by March 31. A state estimate prepared in 2012 projected 62,000 individuals would have private insurance after the end of 2014. Last fall, Ferguson estimated that 70,000 to 100,000 people would get coverage through the exchange during its first 18 months.
I mean, come on. It’s bad enough for credibility when people who skim the headlines later find a story somewhere else that seems to contradict the impression the newspaper had tried to give them; it’s another thing when that reader can find the contradiction within the paper itself.