AP Cites Only 2.7 Percent Black Friday Weekend Rise After Trumpeting

Tom Blumer
December 24th, 2012 2:52 PM
A post-Black Friday weekend dispatch at the Associated Press on November 26 reported that "The holiday shopping season got off to a strong start on Black Friday, with retail sales up 7 percent over last year, according to one survey. Now stores just have to keep buyers coming back without the promise of door-buster savings." It turns out that the originally reported number was far too rosy.…
 

Generally Fair AP Report on Consumer Confidence Drop Tries to Make Exc

Tom Blumer
May 30th, 2012 10:29 AM
In a generally even-handed report on yesterday's drop in consumer confidence as reported by the Conference Board (from a revised 68.7 to 64.9, vs. expectations of a rise to 69.6, according to Bloomberg), the Associated Press's Mae Anderson, with assistance from Christopher Rugaber, engaged in a bit of excuse-making in and downplaying in their later paragraphs. The AP pegged its water-down to…
 

AP's Lame Excuse for Consumer Confidence Dive: It Missed Post-May 18 G

Tom Blumer
June 1st, 2011 10:52 PM
Warning: The following cop-out explanation by Associated Press Retail Writer Mae Anderson will make many readers' heads hurt. Knowledge that she found an economist willing to support it may cause migraines. Consumer confidence as reported by The Conference Board fell to 60.8 in May from 66.0 in April -- "unexpectedly," of course, as the headline for Ms. Anderson's article indicates. But…